


Always a Ranger

by jtrevizo



Series: Always a Ranger [4]
Category: Power Rangers Dino Thunder
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst, F/M, Sexual Content
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-02-22
Updated: 2012-07-08
Packaged: 2017-11-09 11:03:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 42
Words: 149,995
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/454731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jtrevizo/pseuds/jtrevizo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As Tommy deals with new rangers, new villains and teaching high school, we see the other parts of his life and how they relate to his past and future. </p><p>Series begins starting with the first episode of Dino Thunder "Day of the Dino Pt 1" through "Tutenhawken's Curse" and is considered AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. When I was Sixteen

**Author's Note:**

> This series was originally posted February 22, 2004 through October 9, 2004.
> 
> Disclaimer: Power Rangers belongs to Disney (now Saban), which considering their non-violence stance seems hypocritical, but who am I to judge?

We won.

Well, at least this round. Not like I didn’t expect that the kids would be able to rise to the challenge. The crystals wouldn’t have bonded with them unless there was something there to start with.

Of course, after meeting them, I knew that they’d do just fine. They have the qualities that Zordon was always looking for in new recruits. The same qualities my friends have. Or had in Trini’s case... I still wish that she’d stayed closer to the team before the car accident. But that’s neither here or there.

Walking into the bathroom, I start the shower and begin to strip off the conservative clothes that being a PhD seems to require me to wear. The glasses are something I’m still not comfortable with. I wonder how Billy managed so many fights with his without losing them.

I run my hand through the short hair and stare at myself in the mirror. You’re not aging gracefully Oliver, I remark to my reflection, remembering the days of long hair and flawless skin, no wrinkles to be seen. Of course, this is what people expect to see when they meet a professor of anything – conservative, older, experienced. The last one I’ve been since 18 though. Three years as a ranger in so many uniforms is enough to give you enough experience to choke a horse. Or a Dinozord.

The mirror steams up, so I toss my shorts and head into the hot water. Under the spray I think that I’m too old for this. Kira, Connor and Ethan are the right age, right temperament to take this on. I should just leave them the information they need and get the hell out of here.

Except for two things – I’m partially responsible for the dinodrones, and I’m the closest they’ll have to a Zordon. I can’t just abandon it because I’m not in the game any longer.

I lather my hands and soap up my shoulders, wincing at the ache that’s there from slamming into the jeep’s frame, and realize that no matter how hard I try, I’ll never leave this behind. Just like I told the rangers today, their powers are bonded to them. They have to be destroyed before they’ll be free. But that’s not totally true. No one is ever really free of it once the power touches them.

I finish up quickly as the water starts to cool. The house isn’t much, but the location is what I needed it for. The small hot water heater is a small price to pay for a base of operations. Stepping out, I towel off and pad into the bedroom to change into some sweats and sit down at the computer.

One thing is for certain, this is only step one in a long journey with these new rangers, and I hope I know what I’m doing, guiding them like I am. Leading was easy. I could always take one for the team, ground one of them to keep them safe. I don’t have that luxury with these rangers.

I fire up the laptop and make sure my internet connection fires up too. The house wasn’t really cable ready, so the wiring is a bit weird. I settle into the desk chair and open up my e-mail. A few pieces of spam and a note from the school district on my paperwork. Not what I was hoping for.

I open up a new message and start to type. If I don’t share this with someone, I’ll start to go crazy. And of all the people I can share with, one knows this and me better than anyone.

[ Hey Kim,

I know it’s been a while. Sorry for not having written sooner. You know me and my memory. Well, I guess I can’t use that excuse much anymore, can I? The whole PhD thing has sort of weakened that particular cop-out, I think.

I’ve settled in at Reefside. The teaching position is fine. The principal is a bitch, but there must be something in the job requirement that they need to be bastards or bitches to be a principal. Anyhow, the kids are good, typical teenagers, you know? Seems like forever since we were that young. Of course, when I was sixteen, you and I were saving the world. Nothing typical about that, right?

Look, the real reason I’m writing is some things have happened that are weighing on me. Mercer’s back in the picture I think. The dinodrones have been popping up with new programming all over Reefside. And they have some very nasty protocols that I didn’t build into them.

I know I shouldn’t feel guilty about it. I was just working for Mercer, working on the PhD research when it all happened, but I never thought that it would come back to haunt me. But then, considering everything we went through back in the day, deciding to go into “dino” research probably should have been a big warning that it wasn’t going to be a walk in the park.

So, we have a big bad. I’m not sure who, but I’m sure he’ll make his appearance soon.

But there’s more to it than that Kim.

I made rangers.

God, I didn’t mean to. They’re these three kids from my science class. They were on ‘detention’ when I ran into the first of the robodinos. They found the crystals that bonded with them, giving them dino powers. So, I didn’t have any choice. The world was in peril, and they already had the abilities bonded to them, so I gave them morphers from the technology I’ve been experimenting with since the robodino disaster.

Now they’re responsible for the planet.

You’d think after everything I went through with the teams and Zordon and Zedd and King Mondo that I’d have left well enough alone. But there I was, becoming the mentor, explaining to them how to be rangers. They’ve asked me a lot of questions about how I know what I know, but I’ve been sidestepping it. I really don’t want to have to admit that I’ve done to them the same thing that was done to me. How I’ve put them on the same long path of service that I can’t get away from, even all these years later.

Oh, and they have zords too. Dinozords. I look at the zords, look at the kids and I see us. The original team. Jason, Billy, Zack, Trini... you.

The red ranger is named Connor. I look at him and I see Jason and me. He’s serious, but with too much attitude. I figure one good ass whooping and he’ll mellow into an okay leader. I know Jason and I both did. Of course, the team backing us helped a lot too.

The blue ranger is Ethan. He’s a Zack/Billy mix. If I can just steer him into believing he’s better than just being a computer jockey, he’ll be a fine ranger. I think about Billy a lot. When I was working on the PhD I remember thinking, ‘what would Billy do here?’ to solve a problem. I miss him. He was a good ranger and a good friend. I wish he was closer than a few million light years away.

Last is the yellow ranger. Her name is Kira. When I look at her, all I see is you Kim. She’s a singer. I guess she got put in detention because she was performing on the grounds of the school. She has a pterodactyl zord. Of course, it’s yellow, but I can’t help but imagine days gone by and you in pink spandex.

God, I miss you.

I know when we got back into contact after Trini’s funeral that our lives were going in different directions. Me with my masters, you with the head coaching position at Miami State’s gymnastic program. We said we’d stay in touch. And we’ve done that.

I saw you after the disaster almost a year ago with the dinodrones and the DNA experiments. I’d decided to finish the PhD after all of that, and you’d been offered that assistant coaching position with the US Olympic team. Before I left though, we’d finally admitted that we’d never really fallen out of love with each other.

By the way, did you get the roses for your birthday? I would have come with them, but I was interviewing here for the teaching job and looking for the house. I hope that you’re okay with the fact that I sent pink. I know that it’s been a long time since it’s been ‘your’ color, but I can’t think of you without thinking of you in that color. Unless of course I’m thinking of you in nothing at all… 

Anyhow, I wish you were here. I know that it would be easier being the role model, the mentor if you were. You always made leading the team easier when you were at my side. I know that filling Zordon’s shoes will be ten times more difficult. But it’s the bed I’ve been made to lie in.

You know there are times I wish Rita had never made me the green ranger; never moved to Angel Grove. Then I think of what I would have missed – Jason, Adam and Billy’s friendship, the teamwork, saving the world, you... and I always change my mind.

Now all I have to do is make sure these new rangers survive their tenure under the helmet, so to speak. I never lost anyone on my watch, and I’m not about to now.

I’m going to wrap up now. It’s been a hell of a week, and us old ex-rangers need their sleep.

Call me if you can, or send back a reply. I really could use your words of wisdom Kim. And if you happen to decide that you’d rather find a job in physical education working with teenagers in Reefside, I’d be more than happy to give you a recommendation and a place to stay. By the way, I bought a new queen sized bed. Of course, it’s a bit big for just me...

Okay, I know, pressure, right? Sorry. I love you, and I really want us back together. Is that such a bad thing?

So, I’ll talk with you soon, right? Take care of yourself Beautiful.

Love,   
Tommy]

I hit send before I can talk myself out of removing some of the more incriminating comments in the e-mail. I wrote them, I meant them. We’ve danced around the truth of our relationship for too long. And with the dinodrones and whatever is controlling them out there, it just reminds me that no one, even former rangers live forever.

I shut off the PC and head for bed. I have a lecture on matter forming tomorrow, and a whole lot more mentoring to do.

I hope I know what I’m doing.


	2. The Price for Dreaming

Everyone said follow your dream. If you don’t, you’ll regret it your entire life. Of course, they don’t tell you that in doing so, you’ll lose everything good you ever had before that.

So that’s how I, Kimberly Hart ended up here, walking into my apartment in Boston. I’m an assistant coach training the balance beam gymnasts for the 2004 Olympic Games. Because I followed a dream to become a Pan Global medalist, and tossed away my friends, my responsibilities and my one true love so I could come this close to that dream, only to end up being a cliché.

Those who can do, those who can’t teach.

I drop my gear bag as I walk into my living room and think about heading straight for the shower and then to bed. My life sucks that much and I really don’t want to do the things I should, like eat and check in with my friends and family. But I end up changing my mind as I walk to the fridge and pull out an apple and a bottle of water as I make my way to the phone.

No messages. I sigh and start to remind myself how I got myself into this pathetic, lonely state. Oh yeah, dreaming about being a gymnast. What did that get me again?

Not much. I made the alternate list for my best event, balance beam. But did I actually compete? Nope. I handed water to my friends on the team, patted their back when their scores came up and supported them through the whole thing. So what I have to show for the disasters of that time, of thinking I’d fallen for someone new and breaking the heart of the only man I’ve ever truly loved? A chance to teach gymnastics to other kids once I got my degree from Florida State.

I flop down on the couch as I bite into the apple and allow my memory to wash over me. You’d think I’d have gotten over this, but I haven’t. It’s hard to let it go on days like today. I really just wanted to get up on that beam and show these fourteen to twenty year old girls just what the hell they should be doing. But that part of my life is over. It’s been over for a while, ever since I made the decision to teach rather than do. Right around the time that I found out exactly what my dream had cost me.

I had been given the job offer for the head coaching position at State when I got the call from Jason that Trini had died in a car accident. I was shocked, I was in pain and I couldn’t believe after everything that she’d survived as a ranger that a drunk driver would be the cause for me flying to San Francisco to be reunited with my friends to grieve at her grave.

It was there after all this time, all the pain, that I set eyes on Tommy Oliver again. The man I loved, or after realizing the huge mistake I had made by thinking I’d fallen for someone else and writing him that ‘dear john’ letter, the man I still loved for the first time in years. It was a big shock. He wasn’t the same as I remembered him. Yet, in the ways that were important, he was still the same.

Somehow I ended up standing next to him during the graveside service and his arm found its way across my shoulders, I leaned into his side, and the years and mistakes disappeared...

I sigh as I get up from the couch in my basic apartment and try to not think of my once and future love. He was supposed to call me after getting the position at Reefside, but no message. I’m starting to think that his memory is slipping again, but then I turn back to the small kitchen table where I see the wilting remains of the dozen pink roses he sent for my birthday.

I toss the apple core in the trash and make the decision to finally toss the flowers too. I really have been putting it off because they were from him, and the last thing I want to do is toss away his gift. As the dried petals and stems go in the trash, I continue to think about that first meeting and the decisions we came to after the funeral.

We talked a bit, clearing the air right after the service. I didn’t say the words I really wanted to say. After so much time had passed, I didn’t really think ‘I never stopped loving you, let’s run off together!’ really was appropriate. We promised to stay in touch, do the letter and e-mail thing, a phone call here and there.

Which we did. It was great. We talked about our friends, our lives and the past. But we always stayed away from the big L word. That had been the unwritten, unspoken rule. For I think we both knew if it came up, we wouldn’t be able to keep up the pretense of separate lives, being friends and all that.

I was getting used to all that, until last year.

I get the offer of a lifetime, assistant coach for beam for the Olympic team in the middle of another personal crisis... that being a new reunion with my love, who has gotten himself into a PhD program and had his work blow up along with an entire island. I really did think he’d lost his mind when he showed up on my doorstep without a call or letter to let me know he was coming. Of course, the fact that he looked like he’d gone ten rounds with a pack of putties without his powers didn’t speak highly of what he’d been through.

As I head out of the kitchen, I glance at my couch as I remember the turning point in our renewed friendship on that fateful day.

It was on that very sofa that after he’d revealed what he’d been up to and what had happened that changed everything again. I had my hand on his arm, he was sitting close to me, and I can’t say who leaned into who first, but we ended up kissing for the first time in over five years. And all I could think of was that I had been an idiot to ever leave those lips, hands, eyes, etc. You know what I mean.

The next thing we knew, the word comes out of our lips. The L word. And I ended up telling him I never really loved the guy I left him for, and he tells me he never really fell out of love with me.

So there we were, realizing we love each other, but so engrained in our new lives that we can’t figure out how to fit the other into it. How to make the sacrifices that are required to be together. So we don’t. In the end, I watched him walk out the door to go back to the program, and I turned and called up the Olympic committee to accept my coaching position.

Which brings me back to reality and the now of my empty apartment. I turn to sit at my simple desk and turn on the cheap computer I bought a few years ago. It’s not much, but it’s enough to keep my resume updated and to keep in touch with friends.

With a few keystrokes I’m on the Internet and checking to see what’s news since I left the apartment at 5am this morning. Then, I get that favorite message in the world – I’ve got e-mail. Quickly I open my web mail and see the inbox. My heart thuds in my chest as I see Tommy’s e-mail address attached to the message. Without a second’s hesitation, I click it open and start to read.

It only takes a similar amount of time for my hands to start shaking and my skin to go cold. Rangers... the legacy has been passed on. And my love has become the person who had to make the decision to change the lives of three teenagers, just like his and mine were by something higher than ourselves.

I remember when I gave my powers up to Kat, thinking my duty would be fulfilled by someone else, and I could pursue my dreams like a normal person. But the truth was I never had those days leave my thoughts once.

Once a ranger, always a ranger.

And to know Tommy’s history, to have him thrust that responsibility on others...

I finish reading the letter and find myself just wanting to get on a plane and be by my love’s side through all this. Besides, at this point I would willingly trade my cold twin bed for a queen size mattress warmed by the sexiest professor I’ve ever met.

But I have a commitment here. I can’t just up and leave the girls. I think that’s part of what Zordon saw in me, in all of us when we were selected to be rangers. The dedication to the task. I failed to fulfill that once, when I ran off to Florida, and I paid the price. Now, I have to make sure I see this obligation through, even if I would like to let my heart lead me this once.

So I settle for giving him what he asked for. An answer.

[Hey handsome,

So, I guess being the authority figure for sixteen year olds is a new thing, huh? Lucky for the girls you’re easy on the eyes. I’m sure you’ll settle in quickly. Just think of what Ms. Applebee would have done, and do the opposite.

Okay, I know, I’m stalling. I got through the first couple of paragraphs and I froze. There are new power rangers, and you helped turn them into rangers. Is that what I read?

Tommy, you and I both know that if you had been given the choice to be the green ranger, you could have said no. But it didn’t happen. What is that quote, “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them.” We both know that the last is what happened to almost every ranger we have known. And we have dealt with it the best we could.

You can’t let the guilt over changing their lives eat at you. You did what had to do. Today, with the rangers and with the dino-tyrano drone thingies you were working on during your doctorial studies. They will be okay. With you there for them, how could they not?

Just be careful, alright? I know you. The fact that you’re not the leader is probably driving you crazy. Let me guess, you were with them in a fight and put yourself in front. Them with the powers, you with none, and you making the smart-ass remarks about the bad guys making a mistake about taking you on. You are not a ranger anymore handsome. Although, if for my next birthday you want to show up in white spandex, I’ll make an exception and call you the White Ranger for a couple of hours while we find out how easy or hard it is to peel spandex off skin...

But I digress. Just remember that we all had to learn the ropes on our own. Zordon didn’t show up and protect us. If these three kids are half the rangers you make them out to be, even close to the rangers they remind you of, then they’ll learn quick and do just as well as we always seemed to.

Oh, and I miss you too.

I got the flowers. Thank you, they were beautiful. I hated the fact that they ended up wilting and I had to throw them away. Maybe next time you can send me something more durable. By the way, I’m in the market for a new stuffed animal, hint hint.

Of course, these days you’d probably send me a stuffed dinosaur, wouldn’t you?

Anyway, just remember what it was like to be in their shoes, and give them the benefit of your knowledge. If anyone can relate to what they’re going through it’s you.

The team’s training here is going really well, except today I had a lot of problems explaining the back flip and twist maneuver that is part of the advanced routine. You’d think that as potential Olympic athletes they could grasp the concept, but it’s been a fight for some reason.

Maybe I’m being too demanding. Or a bit bitter, since I was doing this before some of them were in kindergarten.

What I’m really saying here is that no matter how much I love you and miss you and would love to trade in my twin sized bed for half of the queen sized one that is in your house, I made a commitment to this, and I need to see it through. All I have to do is get them to Greece and then it’s all up in the air. I can look for a new position anywhere with the experience I’ll have gotten.

Maybe you can send me some pictures of Reefside. Let me decide if I like the place. Then we’ll see about new teaching opportunities.

Take care of yourself. I know the motto is ‘once a ranger, always a ranger,’ but you’re treading on dangerous ground, and I don’t want to lose you before we can make things right again.

I’ll talk to you soon.

Love,   
Kim]

I stare at the screen and wonder if I have said the right things. In regards to the rangers, what’s going on with his situation there, and with our relationship. Did I say too little, or too much? Was I clear in making sure he wasn’t feeling guilty? Did he know I would be by his side if I could?

Shrugging, I decide to let my first draft speak for me and hit send. Shutting off the computer, I’m tempted to pick up the phone and just call him, but stop myself just short. I’ll let him read the e-mail first, and follow up tomorrow or the next day. I don’t want to seem too eager here.

Besides, I need to get some sleep for tomorrow’s session.

With that decision made, I head to my bed and pull off the work clothes and find an old pink nightie that I had bought right after I moved to Florida, thinking that maybe Tommy and I could find a way to make it work, even long distance. Instead it had become a reminder of everything that had gone wrong with my dream, and I had shoved it back into my drawer. Now though, it symbolizes something else. Hope.

I put it on with thoughts of another power team, the future, and of my other dream. A life with Dr. Tommy Oliver.

And I’ve got hope in my heart again that I think I can finally have one dream, probably the most important one still come true.


	3. You Get a Choice?

I had to give Conner the props he was due. He could have walked away. He wanted to, but the need to do something greater stopped him.

Just like I knew it would.

Just like it always did me.

I figured that even with the bonding of the crystals, and my explanation that they power would have to be destroyed, or the rangers would have to die would have dissuaded them from jumping ship, so to speak. Conner has his own path he wants to follow, and being a ranger was putting a crimp in that plan. I gave him the chance to leave by calling the coach, but I wanted to let Conner make the decision on his own. The last thing I wanted was for him to hate me like I always hated Rita.

But being a hero isn’t something you decide to do, it just is what you are, deep down under the petty day to day wants and dreams. I know none of my friends would have chosen it if they had known what it would cost them: girlfriends, family, school grades, and in Billy’s case almost his life. We got offered the opportunity to be rangers and help others most of the time. When I was given the green ranger powers by Rita, there wasn’t a choice in the matter. Much like there wasn’t for Conner and his group.

But I made the best of it. When Jase broke me loose of the spell I’d been under, I had that choice to leave or help.

And when put into the position of being selfish and being a hero, being a hero always seems to win. Because we always were that, underneath it all, uniform or no.

Still, I can’t help but feel sorry for him. He had this great opportunity, and because of the team, he ended up having to lose it. It reminds me of all the times when we had to make the choice between our futures and being rangers.

Trini, Zack and Jason were the first. They had the chance of a lifetime come their way. Delegates for the International Peace Conference. In some ways, they got to do more that way than battling putties ever would. So they were the first to have to make the choice – to stay or to go.

And because of their departure, Adam, Rock and Aisha joined the team.

That reminds me, I owe Adam a call...

Then of course, there was me, and losing the green ranger power, then being offered the white ranger mantle. I mean, I’d spent months agonizing over not being a part of the team, and here comes Zordon with his ‘miracle’. What was I going to do, say no?

Besides, I wasn’t ready to sit on the sidelines and let other people fight the good fight I felt I should be helping to win.

And there was Kim...

Let’s not go there now Oliver.

So when I finally stepped down from being a power ranger, it was after three colors – green, white and red, three teams, five vehicles, over 2 years as a leader and having found my one true love.

And I found myself lost.

When Andros called about Serpentera, I really was in a strange headspace. I’d decided I was going to continue my education, but the call to serve wasn’t something I could ignore. I was glad to toss on the old uniform and get back into action. And the thought that everyone, except for Jase was calling me the best ranger ever was a bit much for my ego.

Still, the reality of that, when I walked away alone, was that I had nothing to show for everything I had accomplished as a ranger. I was famous within the rangers, but how can you compare my saving the world with Andros or TJ or Jason or Wes doing the exact same thing as well? As a power ranger, I was famous in the outside world, but we were interchangeable. I wore those helmets every day and no one saw my face. No one knows I was a ranger, or that I saved the world, or that my sense of duty and pride kept me from getting the woman I loved back until way late in the game.

No, my ranger life isn’t anything like my real life.

When I got the opportunity to work with Mercer, I jumped at the chance to expand the dino theory that I was using for my thesis. I have to think that Zordon and Billy would be proud of the things I learned from them, although I doubt they’d be happy with the results.

Though Mesogog has my science, and is using it to try and destroy the planet. I’m not going to allow that.

And neither will the rangers. I’m sure of that now. I was right that Conner was a bit too arrogant, but in having to make the choice about being the hero or just being a person sort of woke him up. I hope that he’ll get better as time goes on.

Of course, I can’t wait to see the complex series of lies and excuses they’re going to need to start creating to explain leaving their date at dinner because they have to go save the world or leave school in the middle of the day. At least though they have me to help. I don’t think a note from Zordon would have carried much weight back in the day.

As I make my way to the Cybercafé that Kira is singing at, I can’t help but think about Kim and her e-mail and my decision to leave her a message on her answering machine. Should I have asked her to call me? I mean, we’re really on shaky ground, what with the declarations that we’ve been making, and the fact that everything here is so dangerous.

God, I can’t imagine what would happen if she decided to come out here to be with me after the Olympics finished just to get hurt because of my work with the tyrano-drones and mentoring the rangers. She was right about so many things, but the need to protect the rangers was right on the money. My need to protect her would be a hundred times worse, because it always has been.

Yet she’s been there too. Knows what being a ranger, even a ranger without powers is like and can certainly take care of herself. And there’s the fact that she saved my ass more than once...

Yeah, I think that asking her to call me was a good idea. If nothing else, I can talk to her, hear her voice and maybe we can think about making some long term plans after the Olympics finish in the summer. I’ll have to ask around for a private gymnastics academy. Maybe if there’s one they’d be interested in an Olympic coach on their staff.

I see the building up ahead, and I smile a bit as start thinking about Kim being here, showing these new kids just how it’s really done when I hear a crackle above me. I glance up and see the green and black portal open with lightning bolts crackling from its center.

Once moment I’m looking at the sky, the next I’m surrounded by Tyrano- drones. Before I know what is happening, I’m caught and we’re being teleported off.

Oh god, I’m in trouble. Conner, Kira, Ethan, help, find me... Kim... I love you...


	4. Once a Ranger

“You should head for the portal,” Hayley remarked as she turned in the chair Tommy usually would have sat in towards the rangers.

The others continued to stare at her. After everything; her knowing who they were, their likes and passions, to find out she had assisted Dr. O in creating the Dino technology that made them rangers was a shock. The fact that she also knew their teacher’s past as a ranger was even more surprising.

“Let’s get moving,” Conner stated as he turned and walked away for the view screen. It was still all sinking in with him that he, Kira and Ethan had just watched the video diary of their teacher, Thomas Oliver, power ranger. But the goal was to rescue him. Then they could ask questions.

“Wow, he was a power ranger too,” Ethan remarked as he came up to walk along side of Conner. The blue ranger had wondered what secret their professor was hiding, but he couldn’t have imagined...

“Not just one,” Kira commented dumbly as she fell in behind them, the shock still fresh, “he was the leader of power rangers teams, plural. And he was three different colors - green, white and red. He had to be a ranger for like three years or something.”

“I still can’t believe that he trusts us to save the world,” remarked the red ranger, his confusion and awe getting the best of him.

That last note in the diary had surprised him; if the world was in peril, Dr. O trusted that he and the others could save the planet. It was daunting. If what Hayley was saying was true, that their teacher had been the greatest ranger that ever was, the fact that he trusted them to make sure nothing happened to Earth was just beyond belief.

Since the day that the crystals had bonded to them, he’d thought this had been a mistake. But Dr. O’s trust in him made him believe that maybe that the choice to be a ranger had been the right one. The only thing that scared him was the idea that while others had left the ranger service, so to speak, if he ended up like Dr. O, this might not be something he could walk away from. When the soccer team audition had come his way, he was ready to give it all up.

If what they’d seen in Dr. O’s video journal was true, being a ranger could be a lifetime kinda thing. A whole ‘Once a Ranger, always a Ranger’ thing.

Conner felt something brush past him as Ethan pulled ahead and hit the stairs leading to the upper part of Dr. O’s house. The blue ranger quickly ascended the steps as he considered everything that they’d found out, and thought about how to get their teacher back when they got through the portal. He couldn’t believe that he was now part of a legacy that was responsible for saving the world, and that their mentor had lived the life of a ranger for so many years. Led power team after power team to defeat whatever evil came. It wasn’t a question now of could they be rangers and save Dr. O. Now they had to live up to their mentor’s tenure as a ranger too.

The three moved through the door to the basement lair and headed for the front door of the house. As they walked through the living room, the phone rang. As it continued to ring, they stopped for a moment, wracked by indecision. They knew they had to get to the portal to rescue Dr. O, but for all they knew, that could be the bad guy, Mesogog, calling for a ransom or something. The three of them stared at it, none of them knowing what to do.

“Should we answer it?” Kira questioned.

“We need to get going,” Conner retorted, starting to head for the door. But before Conner could put his hand on the knob, Ethan reached over and grabbed the receiver.

“Hello, Dr. Oliver’s residence.”

“Who is this?” asked a female voice on the other end.

“Uh, who is this?” Ethan responded, his senses already curious at the call. First Hayley showed up, and now they had another mysterious woman from Dr. O’s life calling up after he goes missing?

“I’m an old friend of Tommy’s. I told him I’d call. Where is he?”

“A friend? Like the ones he saved the world with?” the blue ranger blurted out, and Kira and Conner looked at him in shock for revealing what seemed to be Dr. O’s big secret to someone on the phone.

There was a very long pause on the phone, and Ethan was wondering if there was anyone left on the other end when the woman’s voice came back on the line, quiet and frightened.

“Is he okay? I mean, did something happen? He said things were getting bad and all, but I didn’t think...”

Conner came over and took the phone from Ethan, deciding to either figure out whom this person was or finish this up quickly and get to the rescuing. When he put the phone to his ear, what he heard surprised him more.

“Hello? Look, is this one of the rangers? Ethan, Conner?” the woman asked.

“She knows our names,” Conner stated with shock as he muffled the mouthpiece so the person on the other end couldn’t hear them.

“Great, another one,” Kira remarked sullenly. “Aren’t rangers supposed to have secret identities or something? It looks like we sure don’t.”

“What do we do?” Ethan asked startled. All his conspiracy theories never prepared him for this eventuality.

There wasn’t anything he could do, Conner thought. If this woman knew about the rangers, like Hayley, maybe she could help. And if it was one of Mesogog’s cronies, like Elsa that Kira had been held by, then it was too late for secret identities. Take a chance, his gut told him.

“This is Conner. Can I ask whom I’m speaking with?” he announced, and Kira dropped her head in her hands as Ethan felt his jaw drop at Conner’s leap of faith.

Again there was silence, as if the person on the other end was debating what they should say, and how much. Conner fidgeted, and started to think maybe they should just leave and get Dr. O and worry about the caller’s identity later. He was just about to tell the woman on the other end to call back when her voice came back on the line.

“I don’t know if this will mean anything to you, but my name is Kimberly. Tommy and I go back to when he first moved to Angel Grove.”

“Kimberly?” Conner said out loud, and Kira moved quickly to his side.

“She was the pink ranger! Remember, in the journal? Dr. O showed the first of the rangers being picked, and it said that Kimberly was the original pink ranger. And there were all those clips of her and Dr. O at Angel Grove High School. She knows him, and she was a ranger!”

“Maybe its’ another Kimberly,” Ethan remarked, suspicious of the idea that the first pink ranger would be calling Dr. O. Especially now.

“No, that’s me,” came Kim’s voice on the other end of the line, and Conner’s face went white. Obviously his fellow ranger’s voices had carried over the line.

“You’re the first pink ranger? Really?” Conner blurted out, and his fellow rangers looked at him with awe as Kira’s suspicions were confirmed.

“Really. Tommy and I have been... friends a long time,” Kim explained, pausing as she decided to use the word friend. No reason to tell them everything, she thought.

“She says she’s really the first pink ranger and that she and Dr. O are friends,” Conner repeated for his fellow rangers as he held his hand over the mouthpiece again.

“Why do I get the feeling that there’s more to the story than that?” wondered Ethan, his mind whirling with the information he was getting.

“Anyway,” cut through Kim’s voice, bringing Conner’s attention back to the phone, “where’s Tommy? Is he okay? Did something with Mesogog happen?”

“We found some videotape showing him being kidnapped by the Tyrano-drones. We think Mesogog has him and were just on our way to a invisi-portal to rescue him.”

“Then what the hell are you wasting your time on the phone with me for?!?” yelled Kim, her voice loud enough so all the rangers could hear her as Conner pulled the phone away from his ear to keep his hearing. The outburst over, Conner carefully brought the receiver back to his head to hear Kim apologize. “Sorry. I just... Go on, save him! He trusts you all enough to be able to help him. And just tell him...”

“Tell him what?” Conner asked, intrigued at the change in Kim’s tone.

“Tell him I...” Kim paused, then sucked in a deep breath and started again. “That I was worried and that I called. And have him call me when you get him back. Because I know you will. You’re power rangers. Never forget what that legacy means. You can do this.”

“Okay,” replied Conner, his curiosity now starting to rival Ethan’s regarding their mentor and the former pink ranger. “We’ll get him back and let him know you called, and that you were worried.”

“Thank you Conner. And one more thing... may the power protect you.”

With that, the line went dead, and Conner pulled the receiver away from him and simply stared at it. It seemed that their teacher had a lot more to explain to them besides his past as a ranger.

“What did she say?” Kira questioned, staring at Conner’s befuddled look.

“May the power protect us,” mumbled Conner, the significance of the comment just starting to seep in.

“Wow,” commented Ethan. They’d just talked to one of the first rangers. Even Dr. O had said that he’d made a ranger after Kim and the rest of the original team had been chosen. She’d just told them she and Dr. O trusted them to rescue him and given them the good wishes of one ranger to another. It was overwhelming.

“Well then, we should go prove Kim and Dr. O’s faith in us and go rescue him, now shouldn’t we?” Kira remarked suddenly and started for the door.

“Wait!” yelled a voice from the basement lair.

Conner rested the phone back on its hook before racing to catch up with the others as the three headed immediately back down the stairs at a near run. Hayley sat there with a concerned look on her face.

“You’ll need to get to a speed of 536 mph or you’ll never make it past the security wall and probably be ripped to pieces.”

The rangers stared at her in horror.

“I forgot to mention it. So.... I had to get you back, to show you this,” Hayley stated, and then the wall to the ranger’s left rose, showing three dino-style cycles. “These are your new Raptor-cycles.”

As Hayley continued to explain what they could do, Conner kept thinking about the job they had to do: rescue Dr. O. Not just for themselves or Earth or anything like that, but because Kim seemed to need him safe and sound. And, he suspected, not just because they were friends or former rangers. There was a lot more to Dr. O, and to his and Kim’s ‘friendship’, but he didn’t have the information to help him figure out exactly what there was between their teacher and the former pink ranger.

He’d guessed that if he wanted the answers, he and the team would just have to make sure that they got Dr. O back so he could ask him.

Then he heard the part about the island.

“Wait, did you just say island fortress?”

“Yes, why?”

“Islands are surrounded by water.”

“Usually,” Hayley commented, slightly amused.

“No, you can’t swim,” Ethan teased.

“I didn’t say that!”

“But its true, you can’t.”

“The invisi-portal will take you directly to the island,” broke in Hayley, “you’ll never have to get wet.”

As Hayley walked away, Ethan snickered as Conner’s face looked relieved. Kira had smartly stayed out of the boy’s ego battle and simply watched.

“Whatever dude,” Conner snapped at Ethan, “you guys ready?” Conner asked, the seriousness of the situation coming back to him.

With that, they morphed into their uniforms, got on the bikes and headed out to rescue the greatest ranger that ever was.


	5. A Ranger of Another Color

Black.

Well, at least it isn’t white again. I always ended up with grass strains that never came out. I still wonder how Zordon always got our uniforms clean. And there were the boners. God, high school was just not the time to have your hormones in an uproar, a beautiful girlfriend and wear white.

Anyway, it looks like I’m back in the spandex again.

Guess it’s true what they say, you can’t keep a good ranger down. Now, when I helped Andros with Serpentera, I really expected that to be my last outing in uniform. But then, I thought that when I lost the green ranger powers the last time, and Zordon came up with the white ranger powers, bringing me back.

Maybe I’m just fated to always be a ranger.

Just like I’m always going to love Kim.

As I walk away from the new team and my formerly ‘silent’ partner in crime, I hear my name loudly yelled from the door of the cybercafé and turn back to see what is going on.

“Dr. O!” calls out Conner again, as he, Kira and Ethan run out the door.

All I can think of is more bad news, or more questions about my ranger days. Sighing, I turn towards them and look at them expectantly. I really was hoping to get out of there without much more explaining. It was bad enough when I found out that Hayley had showed up at my place and told the rangers about her helping me create the morphers and everything. Okay, so I’m not Billy smart and I needed help. Sue me. Besides, I’m used to teamwork and working with geniuses, not being one myself.

I bet Ethan won’t let me live this down. I just hope they aren’t going to start ignoring me in class because of this. I did get my education fair and square. I just needed some help.

“We forgot,” Conner said with that his smirk of his plastered again on his face as they pulled up in front of me, “you got a phone call while you were missing.”

“I thought it might have been Mesogog calling for a ransom of our powers or something,” Ethan started to explain, now feeling a bit guilty for invading their teacher and mentor’s privacy by answering the phone.

Now I’m curious. They’re all looking at me like the cat that ate the canary, or they know something they shouldn’t. I’m at a loss to figure what they’re trying to get at, and so I stand there dumbly, my mind unable to process anything as I try to wrack my brain for what could be going on.

“Well?” I ask rather stupidly.

“Kim called,” Kira announces before Connor or Ethan can open their mouths, and I see both of them look at her and glare, as if she just upstaged them.

“Kim?” I ask, more desperate sounding than I’d like.

There’s a round of smothered laughter and some knowing looks. Shit, what the hell did Kim tell them? They’re acting like they caught their teacher in the broom closet with their significant other. Hmm, now that I think of it, that’s not a bad idea. I’ll have to add that to my fantasy list...

“Yeah, you know, the original pink ranger, friend of yours from your days in Angel Grove, saving the world and all that,” Conner smugly said, his smile getting bigger by the minute.

“Oh, that’s good,” I try to cover, “it’s always good to hear from an old friend. I’ll have to try and catch up with her soon.”

“Nice try Dr. O,” replies Ethan, giving Conner a nudge with his shoulder and a look at Kira that says they know a lot more than they should about Kim and I. “She called us by name. Knew we were the new rangers and knew what was going on with Mesogog. You’ve been talking to her recently, obviously, or she wouldn’t know about any of what’s going on in Reefside.”

Damn, busted. Okay Tommy, think, how do you get out of this? Because if you don’t, they’re going to give you hell forever about ‘rangers in love’ and shit like that. Maybe something about advice from a former ranger about the situation. Yeah, that’s good.

“Okay, I have talked to Kim about what’s been going on recently. As a former ranger, she can understand very well what is going on here at Reefside and what you’re all going through. I thought I might ask her advice on guiding you along.”

With that, Kira rolls her eyes and crosses her arms across her chest. Beside her, Ethan shakes his head and Conner simply gives me an intent look that says ‘you really expect us to believe that line’.

“She sent a message after she yelled at us to go rescue your butt,” Conner finally stated, deciding that if they were going to get any answers, they were going to have to take a more direct approach. “She said to tell you that she called and that she was worried about you.”

Oh god, I need to wrap this up now and get to the phone and call Kim. They had to have told her about my being kidnapped by the Tyrano-drones. If she thinks that something happened to me, it’s probably driving her crazy with worry...

“Oh, okay, well then I should call her back so she won’t worry anymore,” I comment inanely, more focused on ending this conversation and getting to a phone and calling Kim.

“I know that would be a good idea Dr. O,” Ethan informed me, looking very pleased with himself. “I’d hate to have the lady and former fellow ranger think we didn’t finish our job and rescue you as planned. After all her support and encouragement and everything.”

That brought me up short, and I stared at them attentively. “What was that?”

“Kim told us she trusted us to rescue you. That we were rangers and that we shouldn’t forget the legacy of power rangers. Then she said one last thing, which surprised all of us I think,” Conner continued.

“Which was what?” I asked, curiosity growing at what my love could have told these new rangers that would have made them so shocked.

“May the power protect you.”

The moment the words left Conner’s mouth, I felt the weight of Kimberly’s statement in my soul. Zordon’s words. The ones he always imparted to us as a reminder of the protection of the power we bore. How our connection to our power coins, and in the later years, our different powers and abilities would get us through everything we had to face. That phrase became a part of us, part of being a ranger, a member of the team and helped us to stand up against the evil that faced us.

And Kim had graced these new rangers with that same benediction. Given them the benefit of her approval, her encouragement as they took on their ranger mantles. They were luckier than they would ever know.

“She must have been one hell of a ranger,” Ethan said, breaking me out of my reverie.

“She was,” I replied simply, my mind on getting home and calling her so I could hear her much-missed voice wash over me.

“Were you and she...” asks Kira suddenly, and I fight to keep a straight face and hope that I’m not glowing red with embarrassment.

“That’s really not your business,” I stutter out, and then start to take a step backward. “Anyhow, I hear the mall calling. Black shirts and slacks to fill up that closet. I’ll see you all tomorrow.”

I quickly turn and head away from the discussion that I really have no desire to have, about how Kim and I were the longest ever ranger couple. Of course, I realize as I make my way farther and father from them and the café that they will assume, ‘rightly’ that Kim and I were together. But I’m not going to worry about that for now. I have to get back to the house and find Kim’s number.

As soon as I’m in my jeep, it’s a matter of minutes before I’m pulling up to the house. Quickly I turn off the ignition and nearly jump out of the still idling vehicle in my haste to get inside. I get frustrated with the door as I try half a dozen times to get the key in the lock before it turns and swings open. With a negligent throw of my arm I slam it closed behind me as I head straight for the phone and the address book on the computer desk.

Flipping pages like a man possessed, I find her number and scramble for the phone. I dial the number before I realize that I don’t know exactly what I’m going to tell her. The phone rings, and I start trying to decide how to explain what’s happened.

The phone rings again, and I start to worry. Is it too late? I thought it was still early enough on the East Coast. Then before the third ring, I hear the phone pick up and the breath of the woman I’ve loved since before I was a ranger on the other end of the line.

“Hello?”

“Hi Beautiful.”

I hear a deep breath being sucked in, and beneath that the thick sound of a stifled tear-filled sob.

“Oh God Tommy! I was so worried! Connor said that Mesogog had you and I just couldn’t think of what was going to happen, you without your powers and being held by him, it just scared me so much, we’d put off everything for so long,” Kim rambled on, the terror in her voice audible probably only to those who know her well. Like me.

“Hey, hey, its okay, I’m fine,” I said soothingly, trying to assure her that I’m alright. “The team got me okay. As it was, we ended up with a bonus out of all this.”

“A bonus?” Kim asked uncomprehendingly, and I couldn’t help but tease her a bit.

“How do you feel about ‘black’ spandex?” I ask with as much humor and lightheartedness as I can.

“You’re kidding me,” Kim half asked in surprise and shock.

“I guess I’ll have to send you out a black dinosaur.”

There’s a pause, and I wonder if she’s changed her mind. A relationship with a former ranger is a lot easier and a lot less dangerous that with an active one.

“Are you okay with this? Being a ranger again?” Kim asks finally, her voice sounding hopeful yet nervous.

“Hey, I’m just trying to cover the ranger rainbow,” I joke lightly, remembering the ranger’s comments earlier. “Four down, four or so to go. Except, now I’m going to have to go shopping.”

Kim’s laughter flowed across the phone line and made me join along. The fact that Kim knows my sense of humor made it all the easier to make light of this. The truth was that Elsa’s comment about me being too old for this had given me some pause. I remember thinking that same thing before today. But once the crystal bonded to me, all of those thoughts just melted away. No matter what, I’ve really always been a ranger. Now I’m just a ranger of another color.

“Need some help?” Kim asked suddenly, bringing me back to the conversation. “With the shopping I mean. I could send you some website links for some great places.”

I try not to laugh at the thought of shopping online, and then sober quickly as I realize that I really would rather she was here to help me buy what I need. To be here when I get in from a hard day of battling Tyrano-drones and super villains; give me a reason to come home in one piece every night.

“I sort of need to go to the store soon. So unless you’re arriving on tomorrow’s morning flight...” I subtly suggest, wishing she’d say yes, she was on her way and to come pick her up at the airport.

“You know I wish I could handsome,” Kim replies, her voice quiet and filled with more emotion than I’ve heard there in a long time.

“But you can’t.”

“I made a commitment to the girls,” she replies soberly, regretfully. “I need to see it through.”

“I understand,” I tell her, my own voice feeling raw as I realize just how much I wish that wasn’t the case. That I could go to her, or she could be here with me.

“After Greece...” she suddenly says, and I feel my heart slam in my chest.

“Beautiful?”

“I think I could use a change.”

I realize what she’s suggesting, and I can’t help but let myself start thinking about weekend picnics and doing dishes and finding more space in my closet. We’ve been so scared of this for so long, trying to decide when and where we could make a go of it again that I can’t stop the smile that surfaces at the thought of her back with me.

“I think that maybe that could be arranged. Would you be interested in settling someplace where there’s a regular threat of evil henchmen and the downtown being assaulted by huge monsters?” I ask carefully, trying not to break the mood.

“Been there, done that, could do it again if I had the right motivation,” she replied, and I can hear the humor in her voice.

“How about I keep giving you that kind of motivation until you leave for Greece?”

“I think that sounds great. But, are you alright with having to wait until the fall?” she questions, her voice concerned.

I can’t help the laugh that bursts out of me, and have to stifle it before she thinks I’m laughing at her. Tell her Oliver, I reprimand myself. Tell her now.

“I love you Kim,” I finally get out. “I’d wait as long as it took.”

I can almost see the smile on the other end of the line as she listens to my declaration.

“I love you too,” she replies with that same loving tone of voice I heard for three years almost non-stop. “So, let’s plan on you helping me make a good decision come fall and keep me in the loop with what’s going on out there. I don’t ever want to go through another day like this one, worried about you not coming back.”

“Alright,” I agree quickly.

“Alright. I hate to do this, but we have a 5am practice session, and it’s already late.”

“I understand. We new/old rangers need our rest too.”

We laugh, and I feel that pang in my heart again that wishes she was here. But for now, her love and her voice will have to be enough.

“Take care.”

“Night Beautiful.”

With that, she hangs up, and I carefully set the receiver back on its hook and head for my bedroom.

It’s been one hell of a day.


	6. Music of the Soul

Okay, I’m really starting to hate getting older.

I don’t know if it really was easier to go from classes at Angel Grove to battling putties to morphing and putting the smack down on an overgrown monster with the Megazord, but my memory makes it out that way. I seem to remember having the energy to go out mountain biking on the weekends, or take Kim out to the Juice Bar on a date and actually get homework done... When waking up in the morning wasn’t an exercise in identifying which muscles hurt from the roundhouse kick and blocking maneuver after being thrown on my ass by a Tyrano-drone.

It really makes me wonder if the real reason Zordon chose teenagers to be rangers was for their limitless ability to ignore the aches and keep moving when older, more settled men and women would just give up under the stress and pain of it.

After a hot, yet short shower, I throw on my new clothes: black slacks, tan shirt and a dark brown sports coat. With my loafers and glasses, I actually look like the teacher I’m supposed to be. Of course, thinking about my teaching career brings into sharp reflection the fact that part of the reason I have my PhD and can teach has appeared out of nowhere. Anton Mercer is alive, and I don’t know how or why or what it all means.

I’m still trying to puzzle out his comment about talking in his office next week and the fact I haven’t heard from him or someone from his company about it at all. Just like I hadn’t heard from him that he’s survived the explosion. The fact that Trent is his son was a minor surprise compared to Mercer’s sudden appearance, and his strange new attitude.

Just having Mercer to worry about would be too easy, of course. Rangers need to multitask issues, so I’ve also been trying to understand Zeltrax’s seeming hatred of me. I’m still not sure what that’s all about. Of course, it’s not like Lord Zedd didn’t hate me with a vengeance, so maybe it’s a bad guy thing or something. As I climb into my jeep and head for the high school, I try and put it aside and focus on the day.

No such luck. But even with all this jumble going on in my head all day, my classes seem to go well. At least I get the students to have an actual discussion regarding whether or not we’re descended from cavemen and how close biologically we are to our ‘predecessors’. Of course, I get a look from Conner, Ethan and Kira at the use of predecessors. You’d think that they’d have let it go, with the recent aging monster they defeated being the more recent topic of conversation, but it seems that my life and history as a ranger is still captivating.

Maybe the idea that I was a ranger before they were in grade school is amusing to them. On top of that, I believe that the subject of Kim and I has just been put on the back burner for the moment, and will be paraded out just as soon as something triggers the issue again.

The bell for the end of the last class of the day sounds and before they can get in a word edgewise I quickly announce the homework assignment, pack up the week’s quizzes along with my things and head for my jeep. I have a date to keep.

Without wasting a minute, I pass the students on their way out, jump in my jeep and head back to my little rented house. This is becoming the highlight of my day or week, depending on how things have been, and if Mesogog’s henchmen have attacked us. Once I get home, I change to some sweats, black of course, and curl up on my couch so I can call the woman of my dreams, erotic and otherwise.

I fidget as I wait for Kim to answer the other end of the line, and have to tamp down on my burning desire to drop everything, tell the school I have to take a leave of absence, inform Hayley and the team I’ll be back when I feel like it and fly to Boston. Just as I’m imagining the looks on all their faces, I hear the phone pick up.

“Hello.”

“Hey Kim,” I start off, happy to hear her voice again.

“Hi handsome, so how are things?” she asks hopefully.

“You know, the same as you would expect with a resident bad guy in the game. We had an ‘aging’ issue this week – there was a monster sucking the youth out of people. Made me feel a little less old, except when we broke the spell, I was still older.”

Kim sighed on the other end, and I tried not to smile.

“Oh, hey, have you ever heard of a singer by the name of Kylee Styles?”

“Sure, she’s starting to get big in the pop scene. A few of the girls have been talking about her, a couple of them have her new CD.”

“Well, seems she and Kira know each other. They used to be in a band before Kylee got discovered. She was in town doing some promotions, and well...” I know I don’t have to finish my sentence, Kim knows how to put two and two together.

“Oh no! She’s alright though?”

“Yeah, once the spell was broken, she went back to normal just like everyone else.”

“So how are you?” she questions, her voice taking on a quieter, more intimate quality.

I stop for a moment to consider what to tell her: that everything’s fine, or just start pouring out issues like being a ranger again, Mercer and Zeltrax...

“It’s hard Kim.”

There’s a pause at the other end, and I can just imagine her trying to identify just what I mean by that. Before I decide to cut to the chase, her voice comes back over the line again.

“It’s been six years Tommy. You can’t tell me you expected it to be the same, did you?”

“I don’t know,” I reply shyly, feeling silly now. “I mean, I was a ranger for over three years. It should be like riding a bike.”

“Except the bike is a lot older now, and a bit rusty. You can’t just haul it out of the garage and expect it not to squeak a little,” she says teasingly.

“There’s more to it than that.”

“What do you mean?”

“Anton’s alive,” I start, and then find I can’t stop, “he just showed up out of the blue, and pretended like nothing ever happened. He’s different Kim. Like he just doesn’t care; cold almost. And I found out that one of my students, nice kid by the name of Trent, is his son. I had no idea. And then there’s this minion of Mesogog called Zeltrax. He seems to hate me and I have no idea why. Not like being hated by the bad guys is new, but this seems personal somehow, and I don’t know why...”

“You and I both know that bad guys end up fixating on you. Why, I can’t say for sure, but you always beat them. As for Trent, if he’s a good student, don’t let his parentage get in the way of that. And with regards to Mercer’s being alive and you not knowing about it, does it really matter?” she asks finally, confusion in her voice.

“I don’t know. I mean our research is what Mesogog has in hand that he’s attacking Reefside with. We’re responsible. But I don’t think Mercer cares.”

“Tommy, you can’t worry about that. You have in your hands what you need to keep Reefside, the Earth safe. You have power, just like your new team. Just do what you’ve always done – fight the good fight.”

I smile at her words. I don’t know how I could get through this without her support. There are times like now that I realize just how lucky I am to have Kim in my life, however I can have her.

“I miss you,” I blurt out, and once the words escape me, I realize just how true they are.

“I miss you too handsome, but we were apart for years before now. A lot of that time we didn’t even talk.”

“But I didn’t need you then like I need you now.”

Again there’s silence, and I’m scared I’ve really said something I shouldn’t have. I’m pushing again, and its’ not like Kim doesn’t want to be here. She made a commitment that she just can’t leave. I know that she feels like she betrayed her commitment to the rangers by going to Florida. She mentioned that in a recent phone call. But I’m finding that as I try to transition into the ranger world again that Kim has always been a vital part of my being at peace. Being comfortable in my role as a leader and as a ranger.

And I could really use that now.

“I know that,” she finally says, and I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. “I know this isn’t the same and that things are more complicated now than they used to be in the old days. But you can get though it. If anyone can it’s ‘the greatest ranger ever’.”

I groan out loud as she says it, a light, joking tone in her voice.

“Who told you that?”

“Jase sent me a letter after you went to scrap Serpentera. He made a comment that you were in the middle of some heavy hero worship by the other red rangers during your little stint back in uniform.”

“Did he mention his crack about me kissing on you while he was off saving the world?” I remark bitterly. Jason may be my best, oldest friend, but it really upset me when he insinuated that I hadn’t been there when he needed me. Luckily, neither of us holds a grudge; it would be pretty silly at this point in our lives.

“No. He didn’t,” she replied with mock outrage. “I’ll have to flame him by e-mail about it.”

“Do I really have to wait until the fall before you can come out here?”

“The Olympics aren’t over until August. The earliest I could pack up my life, make the move cross country and find a new job there would be a month after that.”

“Hey, I’d be more than happy to move all your stuff while you’re in Greece and you could look for a job once you’ve moved in,” I suggest with a leer in my voice. Hell, if it would help, I’d break Zordon’s rules of using my powers for personal gain and have the black ranger promote the attributes of hiring a former Olympic champion at Reefside’s athletic department.

“Tommy...”

I recognize that tone of voice. I’ve overstepped the bounds. Right now we’re planning, slowly putting things together like a jigsaw puzzle. Me though, I’m just trying to take a hammer to the pieces and force them to fit.

“Sorry. I just really don’t want to be alone though this,” I admit, feeling somewhat embarrassed by it.

“I know, and you’re not, really,” she implies with care. “I may not be there in person, but my heart and soul are with you through this. Always have been, to be honest.”

I smile at that, remembering dark days when I didn’t know why Kim had dumped me. I’d gone along for another year after that where I gained new ranger powers, flirted with Kat and generally make a mess of things. It wasn’t until Trini’s funeral when Kim and I met again that we worked all those things out, and I came to realize that no matter what had happened between us, Kim had always been with me in the place that mattered most.

My soul.

And once we’d admitted our love for each other again, my soul resonated with her presence more than it had since the last time she’d left for Florida. Just thinking of that reminds me that I have more in my life than I thought I’d ever have again.

“I know,” I inform her simply, profoundly, and then decide to move on to lighter subjects. “So, did you get the pictures I sent?”

“Yeah. Nice house. So, you think there will be enough closet space?”

“Hmm, maybe, maybe not. If you still shop like you used to, we might need to add a dresser and a wardrobe...”

She laughs, and I know that if she were here, she’d smack me good. But her laughter is the next best thing. I don’t know how we’re going to survive until the fall at this rate.

“If there isn’t enough space, I’ll just have to find somewhere else to sleep,” she insinuates, her tone seductive enough to make parts of me stir with the thought of sharing my bed with her, and have to shift in my seat to get myself under control.

“No way. If you’re coming here, you’re coming to stay with me, remember?”

“I still haven’t said yes Tommy,” she reminds me with a reprimanding tone.

“You will,” I say confidently. “I have a long time to convince you.”

The issue effectively put to bed for the time being, I think on my briefcase sitting on the kitchen table with the student’s quizzes in them. Shit, I need to get them done for tomorrow and there’s 90 of them. If I don’t start now, I’ll be up until three am, and then this old ranger will fall asleep in the middle of fourth period science.

“I have papers to grade Beautiful,” I start regretfully, not wanting to end the conversation yet.

“It’s okay. I’ll talk to you later in the week,” she replies, and then quickly adds, “I love you.”

“Love you too Kim.”

With that we hang up, and I get up slowly and trudge into the kitchen. Sitting down, I open up the briefcase and pull out the papers along with my glasses. As I do, something falls out along with them. It’s a dubbed cassette tape. I look at the blue sticky note on the case and find it’s from Kira. She’s put in bold script a note.

“Dr. O, thought you might appreciate this. Even being an old guy and all. Kira.”

Shrugging, I flip the cassette over in my hands and wonder if I actually will, or if my ranger is taking pity on me. But if the songs are anything like what Kira’s been performing at the café, I don’t see why I won’t. Of course, when she sings, she reminds me of Kim.

Figuring I might as well give it a shot, I pop the cassette out of the plastic case and walk over to my stereo. A few minutes later, I have it running and I walk back to the table to start grading quizzes. I slide my glasses on and pick up my pen when Kira and Kylee’s voices start to announce the contents of the tape. I realize suddenly that all that is on the tape is just one song. I wonder if it is new, maybe something they did while Kylee was in town, or if it is from their days as band mates. But all my questions about when the song was performed and why Kira gave it to me fly out of my head as the music starts and they begin to sing.

The lyrics are wrenching and emotionally deep. The song is about lovers separated, longing to be together, but kept apart by circumstances. It’s all I can do not to go over and turn it off. Instead, I let it run and let the story that is so close to me wash over me. I think I understand why Kira gave this to me, but I won’t tell her that. It will only fuel the fire with regards to the new ranger’s fascination with Kim and I.

So I just sit and listen to the lyrics and melody, and inside my soul, I can hear the music resonate in the place where Kim resides.


	7. Changing the Rules

As the rangers stood at the gaming console area, the door chimed and Dr. O walked in, glancing about for his students and teammates. Once Kira noticed him, she shoved Ethan with an elbow and nodded in his general direction.

“I’m gonna put that day long marathon to break the code on hold for a couple of minutes, okay Hayley?” Ethan announced, slowly gravitating towards where Dr. O had stopped by the couches at the front door. Kira and Conner had already stared towards the couches and dropped down, Kira on one couch, Conner on the other.

Tommy decided that the team must want a slight debriefing, and settled at the opposite end of the couch Kira had claimed. A few moments later, Ethan took up the other end of the couch that Conner occupied, scooting as far down to the far end as possible.

A shrill toned voice brought the whole team’s attention to Cassidy as she continued to complain, not only to Devin, but to Trent and Hayley now. The team sighed and turned back to where Dr. O slightly gave Ethan a disapproving stare.

“You know, your obsession with this game really could have been more dangerous that this,” Tommy remarked seriously. As much as he believed that Ethan was a brilliant as Billy was, there were times that his foolishness seemed to override his smarts.

“I’m sorry Dr. O. I know that we had training and all, but I was so caught up in everything. You know?”

“Yeah, I do. But you need to be more careful. Just think what could have happened to you, Kira and the others if we hadn’t been able to find a way to get you out, and the wizard guy back in?”

“How did you do that, by the way?” Kira asked, looking to Conner.

“Oh, it was nothing. I’m glad that we got everybody out and sent that magnet guy back to nothingness,” Conner said, fidgeting a bit on the couch. He still didn’t want to say that releasing Kira and Ethan had been a fluke.

“Nothing,” parroted Kira, staring at the red ranger with a look that said she knew he wasn’t telling the whole truth on what had happened.

“It could have been a lot worse,” Tommy remarked, breaking into the tension filled discussion.

“How? Instead of ending up in Gondor’s world, I could have ended up surrounded by big breasted Lara Croft look-alikes that wanted to seduce me?” Ethan joked, but actually half serious.

“You *so* need a girlfriend,” taunted Conner in his usual manner. Tommy simply sighed as the two Alpha males butted heads with each other. Kira looked over at Dr. O and shrugged, not understanding her co-ranger’s attitudes either.

“So do you,” Ethan fired back.

“At least I have the girls interested,” Conner smugly remarked.

“Please... you are not *that* much of a player. Besides, it’s not like that’s going to be easy for either of us. How are we supposed to explain our ‘extra curricular’ activities?”

Conner came up short at that. None of them had considered this part of being a ranger yet. Then they swiftly turned to Tommy. He was the ranger with the most experience. Of course, if they’d guessed correctly, he had also been in a long-term relationship during the height of his career as a ranger.

“Don’t look at me,” Tommy demurred. “I don’t know anything about dating and being a ranger.”

“What? You and Kim never went to a movie?” Conner questioned.

“Or dinner, dancing, some kind of party?” Ethan followed up, looking at their teacher and co-ranger with curiosity.

“That’s not the same thing...” Tommy started, and then clamped his mouth shut. Shit...

“How’s that Dr. O?” Kira questioned, leaning in closer from her end of the sofa that they were sharing.

Realizing that the three of them were not going to let it go this time, Tommy sighed and resigned himself to his fate. With agonizingly slow motions, he shifted in his seat so he could face his students and teammates.

“I never had to ditch Kim like you’ll have to do to anyone you date. I watched all of my friends try to date people in high school just to see the relationships decay as duty took first priority over dating.”

“But you and Kim made it work,” Kira interjected, and then suddenly made a discovery. “It was because you were both rangers, wasn’t it?”

Conner and Ethan stared at her with awe. They hadn’t thought about it in those terms. It would be easier to date someone when they knew your secret; and when you morphed, they did too.

“Wasn’t it tough, I mean fighting with your girlfriend?” Ethan asked.

If they had posed this question a week ago, Tommy thought, he wouldn’t have answered them. But after today, with the changes that Conner, Ethan and Kira had made in regards the responsibilities of being a ranger, to both the world and their teammates, he owed them the truth.

“Yes and no. At least I knew where she was. Of course, there were all the times she saved my ass...”

“You’re kidding!” Conner exclaimed, shocked.

“What? Are you saying that women can’t rescue men? That we have to be the damsel in distress?” Kira shot back, her eyes blazing fire at her male teammate.

Chastised, Conner shrank back into the velvet fabric of the couch while Ethan and Kira leaned forward into the open space to focus on Dr. O’s reply.

“But there were other times that it was bad. When she was in danger and I couldn’t help. Or when I lost my powers and she was still on the team. Still, we made it work. No matter what was going on and even when one of us wasn’t a ranger.”

“Like now?” Ethan questioned, smirking at the black ranger as his eyebrows raised and waggled.

“That really isn’t any of your business.”

“Just tell her hi for us when you call her next. I’m sure she’ll be interested in our cyber adventure,” Kira suggested, her tone actually serious about her asking Dr. O to send the team’s regards to the former pink ranger.

“Sure,” Tommy replied nonchalantly, trying to drop the conversation.

“Well, not that this hasn’t been fun, but I have a game to beat,” Ethan announced brightly. “I’ll see you all later.”

With that, he got up and headed to the computers at the back of the café. Once Ethan had left, the rest of the group realized it was time to get back to their real lives. Kira got up next, and headed for the door, with Conner right behind her. Tommy sat just a little longer, wondering if there would ever be a time when being a ranger and dating would be easy.

And considering his track record with Kim after she left for Florida, he couldn’t say that his dating career had been any better than some of the other rangers. But he was working on fixing that for the long-term.

He was surprised though that the rangers had finally broken down and asked him about dating and being a ranger. It never really came up with the previous teams until things with someone’s girlfriend or boyfriend started to go sour. And of course, the subject of Kim had been something that the rangers had been almost politely avoiding addressing specifically until now. With a shrug, Tommy assumed that the circumstances rather than a burning desire to get more dirt on their teacher had spurred the Q&A session.

Looking up, he noticed that the place was starting to fill up, and that Ethan was still on the computer, working on his ultimate conquest of the world of whatever it was. With a sigh, he shoved himself up and started for the door. He had no groceries and needed to pick up some parts for the bikes that Hayley had asked for to upgrade the torque.

It took a couple of hours to get all the tasks on his list done, so by the time Tommy arrived home, the sun was starting to set. Focused on getting everything put away and then enjoying a hot shower to clean off the grime of fighting, he simply walked straight through the house to the kitchen. After putting everything in its place, he trudged back outside and got the parts, again taking them straight to their destination without pause.

At last, all his chores were done, and he glanced at the clock, noticing the time. It was late enough for him to be able to make *the* phone call. As he walked through the living room, he finally noticed the flashing light on his answering machine. Damn, how had he missed seeing the messages for the last half an hour? Puzzled about who would have called, he wandered over and found there were 2 messages. With a jab of the finger, he hit the button to play them.

‘Tommy, it’s me. I’m sorry, but I have to go to Washington D.C. for a few days. The Olympic committee is doing a press junket for the Athens games, and all the coaches have to go. I’ll call you when I get back. Be careful. I love you.’

Once Kim’s voice disappeared, Tommy’s heart sunk. He’d been so looking forward to talking to her. Now, he was on his own. Then the next message started.

‘Hey bro, guess who’s coming in town? I’ve got my cell, give me a call, alright. We can catch up.’

All Tommy could do was stare at the message machine. Jason?

Without a moment’s hesitation, he scooped up the phone and his address book and searched for Jason’s cell phone number. A few moments later, the number was ringing, and Tommy was trying hard not to be excited, but failing miserably.

“Talk to me,” announced the male voice at the other end.

“Jase?”

“Tommy!”

“It’s good to hear from you bro. What has it been, three months?”

“Closer to five. I’ve been really busy, traveling a lot for the business. The whole operations manager for the dojo chain is not an easy gig. Anyhow, I flew in Friday for a meeting with the Sun Dragon Fu dojo in Surfside, just down the way from you. My flight leaves Sunday morning, so I was thinking that if you had the time, we could catch up, maybe have a beer or two and some dinner?”

“That sounds so great. You have no idea. I have so much to tell you, you will *not* believe.”

“Where can I meet you?”

“There’s this restaurant called The Deep Dive; great seafood, its downtown right off Main and Harrison. How soon do you think you can get there?”

“I was just heading back to my hotel from a movie. How about I turn around and meet you there in twenty?”

“Great! I’ll be there with a table and a pitcher of beer.”

Jason hung up, and Tommy followed suit. Realizing he still had to catch a shower, he ran a quick, cold one to force him from staying in too long. Once toweled off, he threw on a pair of briefs, then his khaki cargos, a black t-shirt and a gray/black/white checkered flannel shirt. Shoes in place, he dashed out with his keys and wallet in hand to his jeep and headed out for the downtown.

It didn’t take long to get across town, and when he entered the restaurant, there wasn’t any wait. The hostess ushered him to a table near the door so he could keep an eye out for Jason, and left the menus. A few minutes later, the waiter had come by and gotten the order for the beer, and hurried off to put it in at the bar when Jase came in. He would have stood out anywhere, dressed in the baggy blue jeans, red t-shirt and tan colored windbreaker. With a smirk, Tommy wondered if once you were a ranger, the color stayed with you forever. If that was the case, he had some serious issues in the future...

“Tommy!” Jason called as he came through the door and headed straight for his former teammate.

“Hey Jase!”

The two met beside the table and clasped each other in a friendly bear-like hug. With a quick clap to the shoulder, Jason pulled back and took a seat. By an unspoken mutual agreement, they looked at the menu first and when the beer arrived, they rattled off their orders. As Tommy poured, Jason took the signal to open up the conversation.

“So, how’s the teaching gig?” he asked as he gratefully took the glass offered him by his best friend.

“Good. Tough sometimes. I can’t believe I was ever their age though,” Tommy replied, taking a sip of the beer before continuing. “But the teaching’s not the big thing though.”

“Okay, I’ll bite. What is?”

“I’m back in uniform.”

There was no mistaking what the word uniform meant to someone who had been a ranger, and Jason nearly spat out his mouthful of beer as the words registered. He carefully set the glass down and looked at his friend and former ranger... or actually no longer former, if what Tommy was alluding to was true.

“You’re kidding me,” Jason stated, deadly serious.

“Nope. But at least I’m not wearing white or red anymore.”

As Jason evaluated his friend intently, a light bulb suddenly went off over his head. “Black?”

“Like I told Kim – I’m trying for the record of most color uniforms in a career.”

“You told Kim about this? When?”

The flush that appeared on Tommy’s face told half the story. His taking a large swallow of beer in a desperate avoidance of eye contact hinted to the other. Jason pulled off his jacket, feeling the warmth of the restaurant finally and smirked at his long-time friend.

“Just can’t keep the two of you away from each other. So, what, you’re doing the e-mail thing while she’s in Boston?”

“Sometimes, but recently I’ve been calling. Mostly after things get interesting here, you know? Anyhow, she called today and left me a message saying they had some press engagements in D.C., so no call today.”

“And these daily...”

“Maybe twice a week.”

“Excuse me, twice a week calls are just friendly calls? You know, old comrades in arms talking over new events, or is it more than that? Do I need to plan that best man speech soon?”

“I’m working on convincing her to move to Reefside after Athens,” Tommy answered seriously.

“Ahh.” Jason remarked, taking a slow gulp of his beer. “Just make sure you keep her this time. You might not get a third chance.”

“Don’t I know it.”

Before Jason could make another comment, the food arrived, and they focused on filling their stomachs. Dinner conversation was kept to non-ranger activities, including Jason’s potential promotion and Tommy’s class schedule. By the time they finished, Jason had grabbed the check, claiming he was on an expense account, and they were done.

“So, what else does Reefside have to offer?”

“The usual. Why, what did you have in mind?”

“Maybe a game or two on a fairly abandoned basketball court where two old friends can actually talk without being careful,” Jason explained in detail.

“You carry a basketball on the road?”

“Hey, I get bored at the hotel sometimes, especially on weekend trips, and just wander off to find a court in the municipal park or something. Besides, exercise keeps you young. You should try it.”

Tommy socked his friend in the shoulder but grinned nonetheless. It was good to have Jase here, and he did have things that couldn’t be discussed in a restaurant to talk about.

“Fine. I’ll show you I haven’t forgotten all my moves.”

“You should be saving those for Kim.”

After glaring at his friend, Tommy shrugged and got up from the table. Jason threw on his jacket and followed suit as the two headed out the door. Once in their cars, Jason followed Tommy down to the park near the strip mall off the main road. As they parked, Jason noticed the courts were lit, but mostly empty. Of the three courts, there was only one person practicing free throw shots. Shutting off his car, he rolled up his sleeves and popped the trunk to dig out his basketball.

As Tommy ducked around the corner of the car, he barely missed getting hit in the head as Jase tossed the ball his direction. It bypassed him completely and bounced towards the courts.

“Damn Bro! You nearly hit me.”

“What? You were supposed to catch it. Where are those ranger reflexes?”

Sighing, Jason slammed the trunk closed on his rental car and they jogged over to the courts where the ball had rolled to be stopped by the foot of the lone basketball player. As they got closer, Tommy slowed down, and then came to a sudden halt.

“Bro?” Jason asked, turning towards his friend.

“Dr. O?”

Tommy sighed aloud, and realized that there wasn’t much reason now to keep some secrets. They’d seen the journal. It wouldn’t take long before the former red ranger was recognized.

“Conner, this is one of my oldest friends, Jason Scott,” Tommy announced, moving closer with Jason at his side.

Conner stared intently at Dr. O’s friend, trying to place the face. The name and everything seemed familiar. When his eyes hit the red t-shirt, it all clicked.

“More old rangers?” Conner asked in knowing tone that had the short hairs on the back of Jason’s neck bristling.

“Old rangers?” Jason asked, and then stared at the young man a little more closely. He was athletic, somewhat cocky, with a confidence that seemed superimposed onto some heavy doubts. And wearing a red camp shirt... “You’ve got to be kidding me. This is the new red ranger?”

With sudden nervousness, Conner quickly looked around to confirm that there wasn’t anyone around. He was starting to think there was a billboard with their secret identities plastered on it at the rate that people knew who he was now. Once he was sure they were alone, he let go his own barrage.

“Hey! Just because you used to be the red ranger back in the prehistoric days doesn’t mean you get to rag on me.”

Tommy started to move in to diffuse the situation when Jase just smiled and laughed. “God, he’s got a bigger chip on his shoulder than you ever had.”

“I did not have a chip on my shoulder!” Tommy argued.

“You did so. You were arrogant, ‘Mr. Greatest Ranger Ever’,” Jason tossed back.

“Like you weren’t all ‘I was the first, I was the best’?”

Conner stood there, watching the two verbally scrap back and forth, and saw for a moment Ethan and he since they’d gotten their powers. They’d been sniping at each other, but were still teammates and friends, he realized suddenly. He hadn’t recognized that before, but for all the verbal sniping that Kira, Ethan and he engaged in, they were now not just his fellow rangers, but his friends as well. As Tommy and Jason continued to throw back and forth half-hearted barbs, he couldn’t help but laugh. Both the former red ranger and the new black ranger turned to stare at the chuckling new red ranger, effectively ending the debate.

“And you find this funny because?” Tommy asked, using his best teacher/mentor voice.

“Just imagining you two working together on a ranger team. It had to have been crazy.”

“Actually, when I led the team, I couldn’t have asked for a better right hand than Tommy. He always had my back, and the team’s,” Jason said simply, clasping his friend’s shoulder with a hand.

“Except for when I was kissing on Kim?” Tommy tossed back, unable to resist the last dig.

“Sorry about that bro.”

Conner fought to choke back more laughter at the image of a huge battle going on outside, and Dr. O and an older version of the former pink ranger they’d seen in the video kissing in the cybercafé, oblivious. Maybe dating and being a ranger didn’t mix...

“Okay, enough of the disrespecting of the elder rangers. Since you seem to be needing some taking down, how about you and me, one-on-one,” Jason announced, tossing the basketball at Conner’s chest.

“You think you can handle me?”

“I’ll give it a shot.”

The gauntlet thrown down, Conner and Jason began their game, each looking for the other’s weaknesses. A reverse here, and a fake there, and Conner had the first basket. With that, Jason had the ball, and started his drive for the post. This went on, back and forth for ten minutes before Jason realized there was something more here than just a late night practice.

“So Conner, do you want to tell me what happened today that’s got you out here trying to work off some steam?”

There was a short pause, and then Connor shrugged, as he stood a bit straighter, still bouncing the basketball. If anyone could relate, besides Dr. O who had been there, it would be Jason.

“Some things happened, and I was just feeling a bit like I wasn’t a good leader.”

Jason threw a look to Tommy, looking for more information and saw a similar expression of guilt. God, did they have to make ranger leaders out of the same self-depreciating mold?

“What happened?” Jason asked Conner.

“Ethan, the blue ranger was supposed to show up at training with me, Kira, the yellow ranger and Dr. O. I was a bit pissed, as was Dr. O that he didn’t show, and then we found out that something had happened to him. Kira and I got to the cybercafé downtown and got jumped by this monster. So, I sent her in by herself while I faced off with the monster, and she got sucked into this video game, just like Ethan had. I had no idea what had happened, what I’d sent her in to face,” Conner stated as he dribbled the basketball towards his predecessor. “I got in there, and found them gone and didn’t know what to do...”

“So, how did you get them back?” Jason asked as he swiped at the younger man, effectively blocking Conner’s progress to go around him.

“I got tossed on my ass and accidentally hit the code breaker Ethan made, freeing them,” Conner admitted finally.

On the side of the court, Tommy sighed and shook his head. No wonder Conner had been evasive on how he’d freed Kira and Ethan. But Jason just laughed and dribbled past the younger man.

“Don’t feel bad about it. Sometimes luck is a ranger’s best friend. But you have to understand one thing. You’re the leader, and sometimes that means making tough decisions, like you did with Kira today. Remember, your teammates are rangers, and can take care of themselves, or they wouldn’t be rangers. Yes, they’re your responsibility, even with Tommy here. But he’s not the leader. You are. You have to accept it and realize that if you work together, you’ll survive anything they throw at you. We always did.”

Conner stared at the older, former red ranger and nodded slowly. He was still trying to grasp the powers and the role of being the leader, but what Jason was saying really seemed to alleviate a lot of his misgivings. He was glad that he’d said something.

They continued to play, with Jason showing that he could keep up with the new ranger, even at nearly twice the kid’s age. But when Conner started to pull ahead in their game of one-on-one, Jason started to realize that the age difference was a bit more than he could handle. He was down 6 points when he decided to call it, and move on to someone with the same age handicap.

“Alright, I give. You win. Besides, before you tire me out, I still need to put the smack down on my friend here,” Jason stated, tossing the basketball at Tommy.

This time, he was ready for the ball, caught it and then began to dribble it as he traded places with Conner. The two old friends grinned as they sized each other up, and then commenced their game. As they played, trying to out-maneuver each other, the conversation that Jason had been having with Conner switched to being directed at his old friend.

“So, how did you do it?”

“What do you mean?” Tommy asked, confused, as he tried to block.

“I didn’t hear you mention anything about an entity like Zordon or Dimetria or anybody else being here,” Jason remarked, jumping up for a three-point basket. “Someone had to have given them ranger powers...”

Sighing, Tommy retrieved the ball, and turned to trot back to the half court line.

“I did. Actually, it was more of an accident that I had to give them morphers. But the fact of the matter is I got them into this.”

“And the problem with that is?” Jason questioned. “I mean, they’re rangers now. If they weren’t worthy of it, you wouldn’t have made them rangers, would you?”

“I didn’t choose, the crystals did,” he complained as he dribbled to his right, then zipped past Jason’s weak side and hurried towards the basket. Once the ball was in the air and through the hoop, he reached beneath to catch it, turning to toss it back to Jase. “I wouldn’t have pushed it on them except I didn’t have a choice.”

“Like you didn’t have a choice in being the green ranger?”

Conner watched and listened to two of the oldest rangers to ever wear a uniform talk about something that he really had wondered about. From Dr. O’s video journal, he’d gotten that Tommy hadn’t originally chosen to be a ranger, it had been forced on him, and he’d been evil. On the other hand, while Kira, Ethan and he had absorbed the crystal’s powers, they’d still been given a choice by Dr. O that first day to take the morphers and do some good with their new powers.

The longer he and the rest of the rangers worked with Dr. O, the more kinship Conner felt they would have with the man who had helped turn them into being superheroes.

“That was a long time ago Jase.”

“Doesn’t mean that, deep down, you’re going to ever forgive yourself for something that wasn’t your fault. Just like you’re doing now, beating yourself up over making Conner and his friends rangers.”

Tommy stayed silent, thinking about that as Jason used his friend’s introspection to his benefit, quickly speeding past him and putting up another two points. As the ball rolled around the rim and slid through the chain basket, Tommy stared at his friend, and fellow former ranger leader. Was his past as a ranger coloring his judgment now?

“We did get a choice, you know,” Conner stated from the sidelines.

Tommy turned to stare at his student and barely noticed Jason throwing another 2-point shot before he focused on the new red ranger as well.

“When you offered us the morphers, we could have said no. And I know that I said that I wanted to walk away, but I didn’t realize at the time just what I was giving up. I was just thinking about what I couldn’t do if I was a ranger.”

“Being a ranger is tough. It’s about making the hard choices and sacrificing for the team and for the good of others,” Jason remarked simply, then looked at his watch and grimaced.

“Shit! I didn’t realize it was so late. Sorry Bro, I’ve got to jet. My flight leaves at six in the morning, and I still need to pack.”

“No prob. I’m glad you came by.”

The two quickly hugged, slapping the others back as they reestablished the bond that had been between them for nearly ten years. As they pulled apart, Jason lightly punched his brother in all but blood in the shoulder with a smirk.

“I’m glad you’re on the path to being happy again, Mr. Black Ranger. And if I don’t talk to Kim before you do, tell her if she’s smart, she’ll take the first flight from Greece to Reefside.”

Tommy just grinned.

“And as for you young man,” Jason said, reaching out to offer his hand to Conner, “Good luck.”

After shaking Conner’s hand, Jason picked up his basketball and headed to his car. A minute later, Tommy and Conner watched as the car’s taillights pulled away from them.

“So, that was the first red ranger.”

“Nope, that was the first and best red ranger,” Tommy softly replied. “You couldn’t find a ranger or a better man to get advice from or use as a role model.”

“I’m glad I got to meet him. It’s so strange, I mean, my knowing former rangers. That’s not how it usually works, does it?”

“No, it doesn’t. There have been a lot of things with this team that aren’t how things have been done before. But we’re changing the rules.”

With that, Tommy jerked his head towards his jeep, and the two walked over to it.

“Come on red ranger, I’ll give you a ride home.”


	8. Home is Where the Hart is

I can't begin to describe how restless I am as I stand at the edge of the metal and fabric barricade dividing the gate area with the central part of the waiting area at Reefside airport. With the new policies about security screening, I can't wait at the gate like the old days. There was a moment, okay, a few minutes, where I contemplated using my invisibility to just walk up there. But habits die hard, and using my powers to get a little closer to the gate isn't a good excuse to break the rules of having power.

So I continue to wait and stare and feel nervous as hell. Still, there are some things you're willing to put up with for the sake of love and romance.

Yeah, I'm waiting for Kim. Finally... unfortunately it's not for good though.

We had a long talk after she got back from D.C. I told her about recent ranger events and relayed Jase's comments about us. She reported that the press events had gone well and that the coaches and athletes were being given a three-day weekend, coinciding with the end of spring break.

The words were out of my mouth before the thought even registered in my head.

"Then get on a plane and come out here for the weekend."

Kim, in her infinite wisdom complained that she didn't know if she could afford it. I offered to pay. And no, I am not independently wealthy now. By teaching high school, almost all of my student loans have been waived, so I put the cost of the ticket on my long suffering credit card. Besides, I couldn't wait to see her any longer.

After another half hour of discussion, including what the weather in Reefside was like, I finally convinced her to come out for the weekend. I called up the local travel agency with the times and locations Kim had given me, and got her booked on the first flight into Reefside Regional Airport and the last flight back that she could reasonably take and get to work Monday morning. They FedExed the ticket to the training camp, and she e-mailed me when she got them.

That was three days ago, and now, I'm standing here, waiting for her to get off the plane and come down to the mass waiting area on the other side of the security gates.

Its really ironic, don't you think, that after nearly eight years I'm finally picking my girl up from the airport after putting her on a plane for the other side of the country.

I glance at my watch and tap my hiking boot clad foot a bit. The plane should have landed ten minutes ago. Where was she? I tug self-consciously at my clothes - black jeans & t-shirt and my old brown leather bomber jacket. My hand follows that path to my hair, and then slides down to the slight beard I'm sort of cultivating for that older, yet hip teacher look. I don't think I had it last time we saw each other. I hope she doesn't mind.

My mind is lost in thought of having her complain about it, and my willingly shaving it off, changing my clothes and selling everything I own to please her when I hear a loud shout from a voice I recognize better than my own.

"Tommy!"

The next moment I'm trying to keep my balance as 105 pounds of Kimberly fly from the walkway coming from the gates and straight into my arms. Not that I'm complaining, but I really wasn't expecting such an enthusiastic reception. Okay, I was hoping, but I didn't expect it.

"Hey Beautiful," I reply, and then decide to hell with it, I need this, and pull her into me and kiss her passionately, still standing in the middle of the walkway, people having to go around us as we get lost in each other after so long.

Air deprivation is the only reason I break the kiss, and I refuse to let her out of my grasp. Of course, I notice she's not trying to get away either. I look down on that lovely face, the smile and those eyes, and I have to remind myself to keep breathing.

She's here.

"Hi handsome, miss me?" she asks in that sultry tone I've been hearing a lot more of these days, and I feel my jeans get a bit tighter as I carefully lower her feet to the ground. This is not the place to ravish her. I have a perfectly good bedroom at home for that.

"More than you could possibly imagine," I reply softly, pulling a hand from its place on her back to frame her cheek. "So, where's your luggage? Or did you decide that you didn't need clothes on this trip?"

I leer at her, and she takes one of her hands that had been locked behind my neck to smack me good upside the head. Okay, I deserved that. But damn, am I hoping that she didn't pack...

"I had to check it. The new size restrictions and all."

"You're here for two days Kim. What did you pack that had to be checked?"

"Hey, I'm a woman! Did you expect me to come with one shirt, a pair of jeans and a dress and be done with it?" she mock argues.

We laugh at that, and I feel my heart start to beat a bit faster. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that I was starved for Kimberly contact. But we've been talking almost every other day so it can't be that. However, the fact that she's here now, in my arms like she belongs seems to be a real powerful reason for my heart to be pounding in my chest.

"Fine. You packed like a girl, now we have to take the time to get your bag from the carousel. I hope you're happy."

She snuggles into my side, a perfect fit as always and grins.

"Yes, I'm happy."

I don't miss the subtext of her words and reply, "me too."

With that, we're off to the baggage area, my arm tightly plastered to her body as she keeps herself tucked against me. Somehow we make our way without tripping over anyone or anything, get her bag and get out of the airport. I toss her bag in the back of the jeep, and open her door for her. Once we're both in, I'm on the road and on the way to the house. The early evening air whips at Kim's brown hair, and I grip the steering wheel tighter to keep from reaching over and running my fingers through it.

Just get her in the house, and then you can ask if you can worship her as you peel off each stitch of clothing she has on.

Of course, that plan gets complicated as Kim reaches over and puts her hand on my knee. I barely stop from jerking the wheel at the shock of her touch. Somehow though, I keep the course and pull into the drive with a screech of the tires. Reaching behind me, I grab Kim's bag and clamor out of the jeep. Kim doesn't wait for me this time, and is out and next to me before I can move more than two steps around the front of the car.

"The pictures made it look bigger," she says, nodding towards the house.

"Its charm is only outweighed by its undersized water heater."

"I guess we'll have to shower together to make sure we both get hot water then."

Okay, that's it. I can't wait any longer. I grab Kim's hand, haul her along with me, dropping her bag at the door as I fight left-handed to open the door. As it swings open, I shove her bag inside with my foot, pull her inside, slam the door shut and then push her against it, my mouth on hers in seconds.

I realize I'm being caveman-like, but damn, I can't believe that she's here, finally, and that there's a long-term future in the picture after all these years. I know I'm probably assuming a lot, and should have been a little more polite about this, but the way that Kim just hooked her legs around me, and is pulling my head down to her forcefully tells me that we're on the same wavelength here.

My hands move from their previous positions and I lift Kim slightly up the door, her ass in my hands, and her feet settle beneath my butt. Wrenching one hand away as I secure her to the door with my weight, I reach up to caress her face, then work my way to her cotton covered shoulder, then down to the curve of her breast as I think about every make out session that got interrupted during our high school days by putties or monsters or something else equally nasty. I can only hope that Mesogog doesn't decide to reestablish that tradition.

A moan in my mouth focuses me back on Kim's immediate reaction to my hand's new location, and I realize that we're going to finally make love. We never had the courage to do it back in high school, weren't ready to move that direction after we got back in contact after Trini's funeral, and never had the opportunity to consummate our relationship during our last meeting when we admitted that we still loved each other. Our timing has always been wrong.

But is it still wrong?

I pull back suddenly, and Kimberly opens her eyes and stares at me questioningly. God, I have *never* seen the look in her eyes that I see there now. Now I really don't want to ask this...

"Are you sure about this Beautiful?" I ask in a barely controlled lust-filled voice, carefully lowering her to the floor and releasing her as every cell in my body screams at me to stop being stupid and take her now. "I mean, this is only for the weekend, until you make a decision if you want to make a life out here, with me and all..."

Kim shuts me up with a heated kiss that has my head spinning. Her hands reach down to find mine, and she pulls them back around her waist.

"I love you Tommy Oliver. When everything gets settled, we'll be together. So let's start the new phase of our relationship tonight... I think we've waited long enough," she intoned, smiling that megawatt grin at me that always melted my heart.

With Kim's blessing, I pull her along with me as I back up towards my bedroom.

-

I woke to the smell of eggs and bacon.

Rolling over, I jolted as I realized I was alone. But the sounds coming from the kitchen told me I wasn't truly alone. Scrounging around the pile of *our* clothes that still clutter the floor, I throw on my underwear and jeans and pad out to see what my Hart is up to.

Funny but after her being here for less than a day, this house feels more like my home than it ever has. Of course you know what they say - home is where the Hart is. I smile as I stand at the doorframe and find Kim cooking at the stove, her hands moving from one pan to another, her head turning every once in a while towards the toaster. As I quietly make my way into the kitchen, the toast pops up, and I decide she needs some help.

Just before she grabs it, I reach out and catch her by the waist. She jumps slightly, and turns with spatula in hand. I find that smile on her face again, and can't help but return it.

"You ditched me," I whine as I lean down to kiss her lightly. "I thought I'd been dreaming."

"I couldn't sleep. It's nearly noon my time," she replies, kissing me back, but her kiss is deeper, and I have to fight the desire to make her my breakfast rather than eat all this food she's made.

"I don't remember stocking all this."

"You must have planned having breakfast in bed this weekend. Not that I'm complaining."

I shrug. I guess my memory still can be Swiss cheese sometimes, especially when it was preoccupied with getting *Kimberly* into said bed.

With that, Kim pulled my arms loose, and guided me to a chair as she went back to the stove. The next thing I knew, a plate filled with food sat before me. Eggs and bacon, the way I like them, and toast with jam.

She was going to spoil me.

From there, the rest of the day went by in a blur. After breakfast, we got cleaned up - saving hot water of course, and got dressed for a day out. We drove down to the beach, walked and hit the water. It was like old times, except we were so much closer than we'd ever been before. That evening, we had dinner in. I really didn't want to go out and share her with a bunch of people in some noisy restaurant. So I ordered in Chinese, we sat on the floor with the boxes spread out around us, ate and watched Jeopardy.

I can't remember when I last felt this content.

After I made a mess of myself... chopsticks are not easy to eat with, no matter what some people say, Kim and I cleaned up and settled in on the couch for a quiet evening alone. She turned to look up at me, I looked down on her, and the next thing we knew, lips were locked, hands were roaming, and we somehow ended back in my bedroom.

We did our level best to destroy the bed - sheets and pillows went flying and we ended up moving the bed in our *ahem* enthusiasm about a foot from the wall. Not that either of us complained. Spent and happy, we tugged the blanket over us and curled up to fall asleep, my arms wrapped around my best friend, lover and one true love.

-

Saturday morning I was determined to do the cooking, so I had set the alarm clock so I could serve Kim breakfast in bed. Luckily for me, I slammed the thing off just before it went off, allowing Kim to simply roll over and continue to sleep as I tossed on my sweats and a t-shirt so I would not burn myself as I attempted to make us some food.

It wasn't as early as it could have been, and my food making skills are a bit lacking, but I was able to make acceptable pancakes with syrup and some more bacon and eggs. Using a cookie sheet for a tray to cart in the food, I carefully made my way into the bedroom and set our breakfast on the end table. Snuggled under the blanket, I watched Kim sleep on. I must have tired her out...

Staring at her, I couldn't help the wave of emotion that washed over me. We were finally together... in every way possible. She was sharing my, *our* bed, we were spending our days and nights together doing just normal things and there weren't any curfews or parents to tell us we were too young to really be in love.

The only hard part was going to be letting her get on that plane tomorrow morning.

But even with that fact, I was sure that Kim was only leaving for a little while. I still had plenty of time between her leaving for the games and when she'd be ready to make a decision, a commitment to our relationship. Even if this had only been a short, wonderful interlude to be followed by more months alone, I could bear it because I had this moment in time to keep me going until we could really live like this day in and day out.

The smell of bacon makes my stomach growl, and I decided it's time for slumbering ex-rangers to wake up. With a gentle caress, I run a finger along her cheek, and her eyes slowly slide open. A second later, a sleepy smile greets me as she shoves the covers away slightly.

"Morning," she says, running a hand through her tousled hair somewhat self- consciously.

"How'd you sleep Beautiful?"

"Too good. I don't know how I'm going to fall asleep without you anymore."

My heart seems to have found its way to my throat, and I swallow hard. I decide humor is the best way to go to cover my out of control emotions.

"You're just going to miss having a big bed," I reply, brushing my hand along her face again. "And being served breakfast in bed."

She smiles and reaches behind her to shove the pillow up against the headboard. I scoot a bit farther onto the bed with her and place the tray between us. Her eyes light up as she sees my attempt at her favorite breakfast food.

"Pancakes!" she says happily. "Are they edible?"

"Hey! I can cook some stuff. I tested one before I came in. It was good."

That statement gets me a look that says she's not sure if she believes me, but reaches for a fork anyway. I poured enough syrup on the stack before I came in to be just under obscene, and as she puts a sticky bite full in her mouth, I think naughty thoughts about Kim covered in said syrup...

"Mmm, it's yummy," she mumbles around a mouthful as she chews.

I take that as a good sign, and start to join in. We eat until the plates are mostly clean, occasionally feeding the other. This is bar none, one of the most erotic experiences of my life, and I can't wait until I can do this with her on a regular basis. Once finished, I turn and dump the dishes in the sink and hit the shower alone, while Kim fusses over her wardrobe. She didn't pack a huge suitcase, and I think that she's regretting not having more choices of things to wear.

I guess some things never change.

After a shower and some clean clothes, I waited for Kim to finish up. Figuring I had plenty of time, I went down to the 'command center', and checked on any new activities. I'm just calling up the area around where the rangers had found the original crystals on the monitor when a pair of arms circle my neck.

"Do I have to drag you away from duty, or are you going to come quietly?"

Smiling, I turn in the chair to find Kimberly smiling at me, all decked out in a pink sundress, reminiscent of our days in Angel Grove. Luckily it was a bit longer and less see-thru than what she would have worn in the day. Of course, she usually had a leotard underneath, but still...

"If the reward is being with you, I'll gladly come quietly. Even if you don't," I smirk, hinting on the previous night's activities in what I now consider to be *our* bed.

"Don't get too smug Mr. Oliver. I seem to remember someone begging last night, and it wasn't me."

The next thing I knew my face was feeling as red as my old uniform. Damn... that was just not fair.

"Okay, truce," I said, pulling her closer to me, nearly making her sit on my knees. "What do we do today?"

"Well, you've been bragging on Reefside being a nice place to live, trying to tempt me into moving here, so how about a walking tour of downtown. I promise not to spend all your money."

I laugh and stand her up as I turn to shut everything down. Behind me, I note that she's looking over some of the gadgets that Hayley's been working on and I wonder if she is curious or if she misses it. Instead of asking, I just get up and come over to rest my hands on her shoulders. She turns and I smile at the sight of her.

"Let's go."

It doesn't take long to get from the house to the main downtown area. I drive us there in less than fifteen minutes, intent on showing Kim the sights, such are they are. I park the jeep at the end of the street and jump out to get her door.

Walking hand in hand, we pass shop after shop. I guess time has dulled the shopaholic in her, and Kim only drags me in a few places, when it would have been almost every one. We're just turning the corner towards the cybercafé when the wind picks up and the sound of thunder cracks through the air.

Not now, I think helplessly.

Kim and I both look up to see the black and green portal start to form above us, lightning crackling from its center. Before we can move, the space opens up and Tyrano-drones drop from the portal overhead. I fight panic for a moment as ten, maybe twelve Tyrano-drones huddle before Kim and I, and I drop into fighting stance instinctively.

"Kim, get the hell out of here!" I shout, hoping I can keep them busy while she gets clear.

"No way!" she yells back, coming up next to me, slipping into a battle ready position in the spot that has always rightly been hers. "I kicked bad guy ass for years. Just because I've been out of the game for a while, don't think I can't handle myself now."

Angry yet secretly pleased, I vow to make sure that we both get out of this in one piece, and brace myself for the attack. Suddenly, I hear three additional voices from behind us.

"Looks like they've got you outnumbered. Need some help?" says Conner, coming up along my left side.

"Yeah, that's just not fair. You'd think they'd have something better to do on a Saturday afternoon," comments Ethan, at Conner's right.

"Obviously, they don't know when two is company and a crowd isn't welcome," quips Kira, who I notice has arrived next to Kimberly. The two share a look, and I think again of how similar they are, even with so many teams and years separating them.

That's the last of those thoughts as the first of the Tyrano-drones surges forward and attacks me straight on. I block, then throw a chop at the closest one's neck, then spin into a back kick then come back to center. I break my focus for a second to see Kimberly do a back flip, her feet catching the Tyrano-drone flying backwards, and she lands, twists, and comes up to block a lunge by another Tyrano-drone.

Inwardly I smile. I guess once a ranger, always a ranger is true for all of us, not just me.

Around me, I note Kira, Conner and Ethan holding their own, taking the fight to the enemy. Conner and Ethan are really getting the hang of this. I see Ethan block one attack, and then use his 'armor' to bash another attacker. Conner zips past one enemy, punches another, then gets out of the way so fast that the fist meant for him hits a Tyrano-drone square in the face. I start to take on the renewed advance on my position, when I hear a pun from a familiar voice.

"Eat fist spike face."

I see Kim surrounded by at least three of them. Quickly I decide that I need to get over there, even if I might bruise her ex-ranger ego with a rescue.

With a bit of concentration, I disappear from sight, the Tyrano-drones that were attacking me stop dead in their tracks, confused. I weave carefully through the fighting to arrive just as a blow starts to come towards Kim from behind. She starts to try and twist to avoid it when I rematerialize and block the blow.

"Need some help?" I ask in my best leader voice. With a shove, I fling the Tyrano-drone away, knocking one of his pals with him.

"Nice trick," she comments, backhanding the nearest bad guy to her. "Must come in handy at surprise parties."

I laugh, and launch into an attack on two that are heading our way, left over from my disappearing act. Kim's covers my back, just like in the old days. I speed out, and whirl into a sweep kick, bringing the advancing two to the ground, and then spring up and catch a third with a snap kick to the chest, sending him sprawling.

I turn to see Kira let loose with a pterodactyl scream, sending the Tyrano- drones into spasms. Kim, the team and I nearly buckle under the sound too, but either we're used to it a bit more or since Kim didn't go down with the Tyrano-drones, maybe as rangers and ex-rangers we have better immunity to ranger powers. I'm not sure, but it's enough to turn the tide and they start a retreat.

Then I feel the air start to feel heavy again, and the portal opens again, with the defeated Tyrano-drones making for it as fast as their feet can carry them. We make a point of beating the shit out of them until the last one is running in fear from us.

"You still know how to show a girl a good time," Kim quips as the last of the Tyrano-drones escapes the way they showed up, the portal closing and the sky turning blue again.

"What can I say, I always was big on the cheap entertainment," I fire back, and happily take her hand in mine, refraining from pulling her to me and kissing her in front of Ethan, Kira and Conner.

"So, what's up Dr. O? You're letting civilians fight the bad guys now?" Ethan asks, having missed Kim and my bantering and without really looking at Kim.

I look at him like he's stupid, and he looks at her along with the others. I know Kim hasn't changed that much, so I stand there and wait as they take a good, long look and process who she is. My bright students don't take long.

"Oh my god!" Ethan shouts, realizing who the 'civilian' real is. "You're Kimberly!"

"Oh please, like you didn't realize that until just now?" complains Kira, smirking at her predecessor. "The way she kicked Tyrano-drone butt? That was old school ranger, all the way."

"So are you here to see Dr. O for the weekend, or are you here for good?" asks Conner.

Her eyes fly to mine, and I hate the look I see there. She so wishes she could say that she was here permanently, but she can't. I know Beautiful, I wish you could stay now too.

"No, just the weekend," Kim answers finally focusing on the rangers again. "The team got some time off, and Tommy asked if I would come out for a few days."

"This is so cool!" Ethan gushed, hurrying over to offer his hand to Kim. She lets go of mine to shake his. "I'm Ethan. We spoke on the phone. I'm glad to finally meet you."

"He is a Zack/Billy combination, isn't he?" Kim shoots my way, and I wince a bit. The team didn't know I was comparing them to *our* team, and I don't know how they'd take that.

"I guess that your visit wouldn't have been complete without being greeted by the welcoming committee," Conner states as he comes up to stand by Ethan.

"You must be Conner," Kim notes, taking his hand and smiling. "What can I say, even us ex-rangers have a habit of running into trouble. Besides, it's not like you guys don't have the bad guys drop in on you whenever they like."

I notice the team is truly entranced, and I remember that Kim seemed to always have that way with people. Making them like being around her. Seems some things never change. Including this.

"And you're Kira," Kim states as she stares at the girl that wears a version of her uniform in Trini's color. I recognize the smile she gives Kira. It's tinged by memory and not all of it good.

"I have so many things I want to ask you," Kira says, bringing Kim's attention back to her and out of whatever memory she'd fallen into.

"How about we walk over to the cybercafé and grab some drinks and sit. This sounds like this may take a while," I suggest, taking Kim's hand again, needing the contact.

The new rangers nod and turn, heading as fast as their feet can take them. I realize that they're really looking forward to getting the dish from Kim. I don't know if my rep will survive whatever Kim tells them.

"They're your students too, right?" Kim asks as we walk hand in hand slowly to the front of the café. Hayley seems to have the closed sign up, but I see the others inside already.

"Yeah. Be prepared for the least tactful, embarrassing questions they could throw at you about us. They are teens, remember?"

"I work with that age group every day. Besides, what are you so afraid of? My telling them about the time you were so scared of asking me out that Zack beat you three straight practice karate rounds?"

"He did what?" Ethan exclaimed from the red velvet couch that he and Conner had claimed as their own. I hadn't realized we'd come through the door already...

"Slight distraction, on account of teenaged romance," Kim supplies as she settles into the couch next to Kira, and I perch on the arm of the sofa.

"Is the place closed?" I ask suddenly, thinking some delicate topics are on the agenda that we don't want everybody to hear.

"Hayley was just closing up, so she asked us to lock up for her," Kira stated.

I shrug and sigh. I guess Kim will have to meet Hayley some other time. Its funny, I would have thought she would have stayed a minute or two longer so she could meet Kim...

"So, you and Dr. O did the dating thing back in AG?" Kira asks, her face nearly giddy.

"Yes. We dated for about, oh, two years or so..."

"Closer to three," I interject, and get everyone's astonished gaze pointed at me. "Hey, if you're going to ask the question, you should get the right answer."

"And you were a ranger all that time?" Conner questions, his arm thrown across the back of the sofa.

"I didn't leave the team until I got offered a once in a lifetime opportunity in Florida to train for the Pan Global games. The team convinced me to go, and so I handed my powers to someone else."

"But Dr. O wasn't always a ranger during those three years, was he? I mean, you guys got picked first, then Dr. O," Ethan queries, scooting closer to Kim as if to make sure he doesn't miss any of the juicy details.

"No, he wasn't. First chosen were the original five; me, Jason, Billy, Zack and Trini. Tommy moved to town a few months after we'd already been rangers, and got turned into the evil green ranger by Rita. After Jason broke the spell, Tommy worked with us, until he started to lose the green ranger power. For a while, he wasn't with us, and then he was able to recharge the powers for a little while before losing them again the final time."

"Which lead to the white ranger powers, then red and now black, right?" Conner said, starting to get the gist of it, what with Kim, Jason and Dr. O's own video journal.

"Well, the red ranger powers were mostly after I'd left," Kim demurred, and I rested a hand on her shoulder. The reaction she must have had seeing me in my red Turbo uniform when we rescued her and Jason from Divatox must have confused the hell out of her, even if we were apart. It meant that she had missed an evolution of the team, of me that she'd never understand.

"So you guys split up while she was in Florida. How did you get back together?" asked Ethan.

I know Kim well enough to feel the tension that instantly appeared in her shoulders. Just as I'm about to say that it really doesn't matter, Kim's hand shoots up to grab mine, halting my tongue.

"We hadn't spoken for a long time, when the original yellow ranger, one of my best friends, Trini Kwan was killed in a car crash. We were both at the funeral, and afterwards, decided it was time to talk and clear the air. You know, you remind me a lot of her," Kim said, looking at Kira. "She was such a good fighter and tough too. I know she would have liked you."

"But she didn't have a pterodactyl zord. You did," Kira replied, taking Kim's free hand.

"True, but I had other zords before I left, so I didn't just get stuck with one thing. Like Tommy, we've both been through our fair share of powers and zords."

"So, you knew Dr. O before he was a teacher and all, right?" Conner interjected suddenly, breaking the pall that had tried to settle over the conversation. "Was he always responsible and knowledgeable?"

"What, you mean to say he didn't tell you that he had a class project to try and fix his worst fault - his forgetfulness? I mean, he was so bad, he'd forget his head if it wasn't attached back in the day."

Everyone but me started to laugh, and I simply leaned over and kissed Kim's head. I'd get her back for that later. For the moment though, I was content to have Kim lean up against me as she related tale after tale about the ranger's predecessors and the legacy these new rangers had to live up to.

-

Sunday morning found me getting hit in the face with bright rays as the sun rose, and I turned slightly to escape it. As I did, I found caramel hair beneath my nose. I don't know how I'm going to ever sleep in this bed without her here again. This is my last morning for a long while with her here, and I pulled her tightly into my arms as I curl up into her again.

There still was a half hour before we had to get up so I could take her to the airport, but I really didn't want to waste it by sleeping. With deliberate care, I ran my hands along her bare sides. I know she brought some nighties, but I don't think any of them, including the pink satin camisole that I have to say was my favorite lasted more than ten minutes before I had it tossed to the floor.

Slowly, I use my touch to wake her up and she turns in my arms. The look in her eyes tells me she knows what I'm thinking, and she reaches up to pull my head down to kiss me until I can't remember my own name. Until I can convince her to move in with me after the games, this will probably be our last time together, and I can't help but want to treasure it.

We make love slowly, leisurely, and when we're through, we simply cling to each other beneath the covers. I have to remind myself again and again that this is not the end. We're just going to have to be apart for a little while. We'll call and e-mail and when it's all over, I'll pick her up at the airport, and never let her go.

Suddenly the alarm goes off, breaking the peace that has settled over us. We look at each other regretfully, and get out of bed. I know that I won't be able to keep my hands off her, so I send her to shower first. If I joined her, well, all I can say is that the water would be cold by the time any real clean-up would be taking place.

I catch a quick shower and toss on my cargos and a black t-shirt with one of my flannel shirts. When Kim sees it, she smiles, and I remember a green checked flannel that she ended up giving me back after borrowing it - for a month. After a quick breakfast, I grab her bag in one hand and escort her out the door. Tossing the bag in the back of the jeep, Kim and I get in, and we spend the drive in mostly silence, trying to get used to the idea of not being able to touch each other whenever we want.

It doesn't take long before we're in the parking lot at the airport. I find a space and park the jeep. I get out, reaching back for the bag, and I turn to find Kim right beside me, her hand outstretched, waiting for mine. Slowly we walk towards the terminal, and I drop off her luggage at the curb before we head inside. Her flight leaves in half an hour, and this is as close as we can cut it without her getting held up in security and missing her flight.

The silence is starting to get to me, so I ask the question that I promised I wouldn't hound her with the whole time she was here. But she's getting ready to leave, so I should be safe in doing it now.

"So, are you still thinking that Reefside might be a nice place to live?" I ask seriously as Kim and I walk along the breezeway to the security gates.

"Just like home," she replies softly.

I realize that her answer isn't a cliché; it's true. Wherever the other is, that's home for us. And I want her home...

Before we know it, the security gate looms before us, and I find my hands are shaking slightly. I don't want her to go. I don't know what Mesogog is planning on throwing at us next, but I know that having her here makes it better than it is without her. My humor and my lightheartedness is less forced, less fake when she's at my side.

But I know it's selfish of me to ask her to stay again. I know she wants to; that she would love to rip up her return ticket and come back to my, no *our* bed. But she can't. And I won't make her agonize over it by asking her to.

I stare down at those brown eyes and see the tears starting to form. Quickly, I swipe at her face to stop the liquid in its tracks.

"I'll expect a call from you when you get in tonight, alright?"

"It won't be a long call. I'll probably be tired," she replies tightly.

"I know. But I need to hear your voice."

We stand and stare at each other a bit longer. Then, I pull her tight to me and kiss her. It's that kind of kiss that makes you question whether or not a soul can truly be shared by two people. When we finally pull apart, we're both shaking.

"It isn't forever, you know. I'll be back soon," she announces lightly.

"What? Did you... I mean, you made your decision?"

"I think that I could get to like Reefside. Even with the regular monster attacks. Besides, that bed was mighty comfortable."

She winks at me, and I feel like a thousand pound weight has come off my chest and I crush her tightly to me. We stand there for long moments before I remind myself that I have to let her go so she can come back. With every ounce of strength I have, I slowly release Kim until just our hands are clasped together.

"I guess we'll talk about the particulars later?"

"We have months to plan before I leave for Greece," she confirms for me, "besides, now we have something to talk about in addition to 'work' when you call."

Nodding, I reach over to kiss her again. Not a kiss goodbye, but a kiss of promise. That this time, I know that there won't be a letter in the mail breaking things off. That she'll be coming back to me when her commitment is finished.

I loosen my hold on her, and she pulls away slightly, only one hand connecting us to each other. Then, she gifts me with that stunning smile that I remember from my first day at Angel Grove high. It still makes me grin like an idiot.

"I love you Tommy."

"I love you too Beautiful," I reply.

With that, she lets go of my hand and backpedals up the slight slope to the security gates. Our eyes stay locked, and I see a million thoughts, feelings and promises in hers that I know she can see reflected in mine. Finally, she's at the metal detector, and has to break away. I watch as they usher her through, and then she's past my sight.

For another minute I stand there, slightly afraid. She promised she'd come back last time, but she hadn't. Did I dare trust that this time will be different... yet I knew that it would be. We both were different, and this, *us* was something that we both now knew we couldn't ever walk away from. We'd learned that the hard way.

Now, all I could do was wait; wait for her phone call tonight, wait until the Olympics were over and wait until the time was right to make this permanent.

One day Kim... I'm going to have you stay for good. Even if I have to put a ring on your finger to do it.

But not today.


	9. Sins of the Father

The cheers as Anton Mercer was unceremoniously run out of Hayley's place was nearly a roar. Kira, Conner and Tommy all congratulated Hayley in being able to keep the place open along with the dozens of teenagers that regularly patronized the establishment that Councilwoman Sanchez now considered a youth supportive environment that couldn't be replaced.

As the celebrating continued, Ethan walked to the door to watch Anton Mercer and his flunkies stalk off.

"Yeah, we did it baby!" Ethan laughed at the doorway as Mercer walked away.

Anton barely turned his head to look to see who had spoken like that, but stopped in mid movement. It wasn't worth his notice. He and his employees walked away, and Ethan turned to see Trent standing on the other side of the doorway, watching Anton leave.

"Dude, come on, get in here."

Trent looked at his adoptive father walk away, still trying to figure out what the hell that thing had been in his father's office that had brought him to the exact location that his father was actually at, and that it was the cybercafé as well.

"Alright, I'll be right there," Trent said.

After another minute, Trent turned and walked into the celebration that was occurring. His efforts had obviously been appreciated, as Hayley saw him and shouted over all the noise.

"Everyone, I wouldn't have been able to keep this place open if it hadn't been for the efforts of one very special young man, employee and friend. Three cheers for Trent!"

There was a full on series of yells and cheers and Trent found himself engulfed by the patrons of the café, all congratulating him and thanking him. He nodded and said the appropriate thing, but really wasn't paying attention. His mind was still focused on the portal that had brought him here.

"Thank you again for coming forward to see me, and convince me that this establishment was better left alone," said Councilwoman Sanchez as she shook Trent's hand. "That decision had to have been difficult, and I'm pleased that you felt you could make it."

With that, Councilwoman Sanchez turned and shook Hayley's hand, and then took her leave as the festivities continued on.

"The first round of café lattés and smoothies are on the house!" announced Hayley, and the crowd moved towards the bar as the celebration kicked into high gear.

-

Tommy entered his house after the party at the cybercafé had finally wound down, went through the living room without pausing and threw his jacket over the chair in the kitchen. It was hard coming home now and not imaging having Kim there. Wasn't it just a week ago that she'd sat there, eating breakfast with him? And he didn't want to think about how falling asleep in his bed now was just an exercise in futility.

Of course, nearly daily monster attacks helped exhaust him enough that he did sleep.

After making himself a sandwich and a beer, he chewed as he pulled out the daily assignment for the classes, and started grading as he ate. There were a few, like Cassidy's that made him sigh. Was she just stupid, or did she refuse to apply herself?

Ah, such were the questions of a high school teacher. He really should have respected Ms. Applebee more in the day. This was not as easy as it looked. Once his food and the papers were done, he turned to the highlight of the day and went to crash on the couch, picking up the phone on his way. He didn't need to bring the address book anymore, he had the number memorized.

That's a feat that Kim probably would never ascribed to me, Tommy thought as he dialed the ten digit number and waited for his love to answer on the other end. At the third ring, Tommy was just about impatient enough to hang up and try an e-mail when Kimberly's voice came across the line.

"Hey there handsome," she said with enthusiasm.

"Hey Kim, I was starting to think I wasn't going to reach you."

"Sorry, I was in the shower. Long day, and I really was feeling the kinks of working the team."

"I wish I could have been there to help rub them out," Tommy stated in a tone that had Kim feeling hotter than the shower had been.

"Me too. But rather than get all hot and bothered already, tell me what's up. I heard about the Vegas monster or something from Ethan. That reminds me, when did you give the team my e-mail address?"

Tommy sighed. He should have known that once the team had met Kim that there'd be no stopping his ingenious students from finding ways to keep in touch with their former ranger 'expert'. No doubt, Ethan was asking questions about equipment and stories about Angel Grove that Tommy would rather be left in the past.

"I didn't. You know Ethan, too smart for his own good. I bet he looked it up somewhere, or got it through the Olympic committee. He's not bothering you, is he? If so I'll talk to him about..."

"No! It's fine Tommy. I mean, it's kind of nice, to be looked at as the old guard, a source of information and guidance. I mean, we never had that, someone who could understand us when it was us in uniform... okay, when it was us in uniform back in the day," Kim amended humorously. "By the way, I just realized, during the whole weekend last time, I didn't see your uniform."

"I was trying to keep that part out of the weekend visit, remember?" Tommy complained slightly, twisting on the couch to lay his head on the sofa arm and stretch his legs out. "How about after you move in with me, I'll let you find out if you can peel ranger spandex off with your bare hands?"

"Deal!" stated Kim as she tried to not think about what she was missing right now, being pressed up against Tommy's naked chest, then shook the thought away as she focused on the avoidance she heard in her lover's voice. "Anyway, what happened today? I get the impression that you're stalling."

Stopping at Kim's words, Tommy wondered if that was true - was he stalling because he'd had another run-in with Mercer that continued to perplex and bother him? He'd made a point of using his knowledge of Anton to help Hayley keep her lease with the city so the café could stay open, but at what cost?

"Hayley nearly had the cybercafé sold from underneath her."

"Wow, that's really... I don't know what to say. Hayley's your friend from college, right?" Kim asked.

"Yeah. She's really helped me with everything - school, the rangers. I'm glad to have met her when I did," Tommy replied, scratching his chin.

"So, what, were they going to tear it down or turn it into a Starbucks or something?"

"We weren't sure what was going to happen to it. But the thing was it was Anton that tried to by the lease from the city and kick Hayley out. See, his son works there, and I guess there was some issue about Mercer thinking it was beneath his son to be working there, so he bought it for him to run, after they remodeled it that is."

"Son? You mean Trent, the kid who's one of your students at the high school? He bought a business for a teenager?"

"Yeah, Trent. I'm not sure why he did it though. It doesn't hurt me, and I think it just confuses Trent, seeing as they really haven't spent much time together over the last few years. I gave Trent a ride home yesterday and found out why I'd never heard of him."

"Okay, don't make me guess, what's the story?"

"Seems that Trent's parents were on a dig Anton was running, and got killed in a cave-in. So Anton took Trent in, I guess adopting him and making sure he got taken care of."

There was silence for a minute on Kim's end as she thought about how close to home Trent's situation would have hit Tommy. She got up from her couch in her apartment and started pacing with her cordless phone still attached to her ear.

"Are you okay?"

"What do you mean?" Tommy asked, puzzled.

"I mean Trent's in a position like you were in, orphaned and adopted... you can't tell me that his problems with Anton aren't making you wish there was something you could do for him, since you had been lucky enough with the adoptive parents you ended up with," Kim explained slowly, hoping she wasn't misreading him.

As long as she had known Tommy, his parentage had always been something that wasn't discussed, but it was still there, in the back of his mind. Especially when he'd found David...

"I really hadn't thought..." Tommy replied, and then trailed off.

Sitting up, he leaned his elbows on his knees as he tried to think about his reactions to Trent's comments regarding his parents and Anton. He'd been in a better situation than he thought Trent was. His parents had always been more concerned with what he wanted, not how it would help them. He had to say that Trent had dealt with it all better than he would have.

"I guess that I wish he and Anton had a better relationship. I know that Trent seems to like me, and it means a lot to have that kind of teacher/student relationship. But in the end, there's not much I can do but hope that he won't let Anton's cold-blooded behavior, in business and in life make him hard."

"Well, I got the feeling from Ethan that Trent's got some other people looking out for him besides you. Like Kira?"

Tommy fought a smirk. There were times when Kira and Trent reminded him of him and Kim. But at least Kim had made some kind of move to get you to admit you were interested, Tommy berated himself mentally. You need to pick up the slack...

"Yeah, she's interested, and I think Trent is too, but they're still a bit unsure about it."

"Sounds familiar," Kim remarked, and Tommy could hear the understanding in her voice that told him that she was thinking the same thing he was.

"I miss you," Tommy said suddenly in a quiet voice. "Last weekend was too short."

"Just a few more months handsome, and then you're going to see so much of me you're going to be ready to kick me out," Kim replied lovingly, her voice dropping to a near whisper.

"Never."

"Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating. But it's still a ways away. We have to get through right now."

"I'm just glad that you decided to move out here after the games."

"What? You mean you doubted that I would?"

"I... I hoped we were finally at that point, but I wasn't sure," Tommy nearly stammered.

"It wasn't a hard decision. Especially after being out there with you..." Kim said, trailing off as she let him fill in the rest of what she was leaving unsaid. The days and nights together that were now her constant companions when she fell asleep at night in her twin bed.

"I know, me too."

On Kimberly's end of the phone, an alarm could be heard, and Tommy pulled the phone away to look at it in curiosity.

"Kim?"

"Sorry. We have a 4am meeting before practice starts, so I set the alarm to remind me that I had to get to sleep before eleven, or I'd fall asleep in the meeting. Not a good move, if you get my meaning."

"It's okay Beautiful," Tommy said with affection. "I know you've got a job to do out there. Just get to bed and have good dreams, okay?"

"I'll just dream of us - that always seems to work," she replied, and Tommy could almost imagine the smile on her face. "You too, okay? It will all work out."

"Alright. 'night Kim."

"Good night... I love you."

"Love you too Beautiful."

With that, Tommy hung up his end and sat back on the sofa and closed his eyes and intoned his new mantra... a few more months, a few more months. With a sigh, he got up and headed for bed, hoping that dreaming about Kim would get his mind of Trent and Anton and what was going on with all of it. At least for a little while.


	10. Underneath it All

Tommy bristled as Kira mentioned jokingly what a good match Principal Randall and Dr. O were. He knew it was a joke – the rangers had already met Kim and knew what their relationship had been, and was again. But it still made him uncomfortable.

It was the same as it had been when he and Kat had been just thinking about possibly being together. While the relationship never had been like his with Kim had been, everyone around them had supported and even pushed them together. Sometimes he wondered if anyone cared that he still wanted Kim more than anything else... his new powers, leadership of the team, Kat, anything.

And in college, people had assumed he and Hayley had something, even though he’d never made a single move in her direction. Something about him made people assume that whatever woman was near him, and interested in him he guessed, was whom he should care about.

Even if the truth was his heart lay with a petite brunette that now coached gymnasts for the women’s Olympic team, and always had.

“Kira, that’s not really funny,” Tommy rebuked the yellow ranger. “You know that I was only concerned about her.”

“It’s a good thing that we all know that you’re already spoken for Dr. O,” Ethan commented as they walked out, after asking for a note for their assignments, “or I might side with Kira on this one.”

“Please, even Dr. O doesn’t have that bad a taste in women as to be interested in Randall,” Conner said, slapping his teacher on the shoulder in the friendly way he saw Jason do it a few weeks earlier.

“You’d better not be saying that Kim is...” Tommy started to get out before Conner raised his hands in surrender.

“Hey, no Dr. O, that’s totally not what I meant. Kim is great, even if she’s old enough to be, well, your age. You guys make a good pair.”

“Still, you can’t tell me that Randall wasn’t hitting on Dr. O at the dig site,” Kira rebutted, bringing the conversation back to the issue at hand – Dr. O’s newest admirer.

“Okay, well maybe, but that seemed like a total reversal just then on the stairs,” Ethan admitted grudgingly, not liking the way Dr. O was looking at them. “But still, Dr. O wouldn’t cheat on Kim.”

“Long distance relationships suck. Things happen...” Kira suggested, and then shut her mouth tightly when Tommy glared at her.

“Just for the record Kira, I love Kim. And no matter what Principal Randall threw at me, I’d only care about her as a friend and our principal. Are we clear?” he stated in his leader voice.

Nodding her head, Kira let the subject drop. Still, it concerned her. She’d seen how Randall had cozied up to Dr. O, and the last thing she wanted was for Kimberly to get hurt. When the former pink ranger had been here with Dr. O a few weekends back, she’d established a bond with the other pterodactyl wearing ranger. She was like the big sister she’d never had, and even though she and Dr. O seemed beyond happy when they’d been together, she could see how Principal Randall might get in the way of that.

That decided, Kira knew that someone had to keep Randall out of Dr. O’s path.

“Hey, so I have a gig at the café. Anyone coming?”

“Sure, as long as you don’t complain about my working to get to level 13 this time,” Ethan joked as he nudged Kira’s shoulder with his.

“I’m up for it. Dr. O?” Conner asked, glancing at their mentor with some concern.

“Sorry guys. I’m really not in the mood. Besides, I have Monday’s quizzes to grade. You would like your results sometime this week, right?”

“Okay, well, see you tomorrow.”

With that, Kira watched as Dr. O headed for his jeep, and the rangers turned to Conner’s car. After piling in, Conner drove across town to the café and found a parking place around the back. Climbing out, Kira and Ethan followed Conner to the door and found the place busy. Kira wondered if she was getting a following, or if there was some other reason for the full house.

“Hey guys,” called Hayley from behind the counter. “Kira, the rest of the band is running a bit late. Is that okay?”

“Sure,” Kira replied, glancing at the computers lining the back wall. “I have to send an e-mail anyway...”

-

As Kimberly returned to her apartment in Boston, she angrily slid her key in the door, slammed it open, then slammed it closed behind her, and then threw her jacket across the room. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been this furious.

She knew what the hell she was doing. It wasn’t like she hadn’t trained herself for global games, but it seemed like her boss had forgotten that was one of the reasons he’d hired her. The routines that the girls were working on had been approved by him, the head coach, and the lead coach on the beam as well as herself before the girls had started them. Now, there was some argument that the routines weren’t hard enough for the Olympics if they wanted to win, and now Kim, Terri Mitchell (the head coach for the beam) and Anton Gregor (the team’s head coach) were fighting over what they could get the girls to learn in the shortened period of time before August.

Sure, the girls could learn new routines, but to make sure they were polished enough to win was another matter. That Kim knew from experience.

With a stifled growl of frustration, she walked and turned on her computer, thinking of e-mailing Aisha Campbell in Chicago to vent, knowing that she’d understand. The veterinarian practice she was a partner in ended up putting her in conflict with her fellow doctor, who preferred to take only ‘money’ cases in favor of helping people whose animals really need help, but couldn’t always pay.

Sitting down, she opened her e-mail and before she could start a message to Aisha, she found she had mail, and it wasn’t from Tommy. It was a message from Kira. While the two had really connected, and along with Ethan and Conner, they’d sent her messages since they’d met a few weeks before, the subject heading was what got Kim’s attention.

‘Urgent – read me first!’ screamed out from her computer screen at her. Surprised, she opened it and read the short message. Shaking her head, she read it again.

Okay, I must be misreading this, she thought. Or maybe there’s been some kind of misunderstanding. He wouldn’t...

Then Kim quickly reached for the phone.

It took a total of five seconds for Kim to dial the number to the man who held her heart, and as the phone rang she sat there, her foot tapping and her already out of patience temper with her workplace mess was quickly getting out of her control.

This couldn’t be right she thought again. He would never... But again, she’d seen this time and again to the girls she coached – their boyfriends were at another school or back home, and they ended up cheating on them.

Hell, she’d been afraid of it when she’d left Angel Grove to train with Coach Schmidt back in the day, and with Kat there... and then she’d written him that damned letter.

But now, they were older, much wiser and knew what they wanted and what it was going to take to keep what they had. He’d promised her he could wait, and they’d spent such a wonderful weekend. She couldn’t believe that he’d actually cheat on her...

Three rings into the call, the phone picked up and Kim heard the voice that made her life worthwhile. Except right now all it did was make her terrified and irate.

“Hello?”

“Hey, it’s me,” Kim said into the mouthpiece of the phone.

“Kim, hey... I didn’t expect you to call, not that I’m complaining. So how are you Beautiful?” Tommy asked as he took off his glasses and sat down in the kitchen chair he’d been grading papers at.

She paused for a beat, and decided to be blunt.

“Kira e-mailed me about the last adventure,” she started, her voice edges with anger.

“Uhh...”

“You’re not interested in Principal Randall, are you?” Kim partially accused, partially questioned him suddenly.

“No!” Tommy shouted across the line, making Kim pull the phone away from her ear. “Kim, Kira and the other rangers got it wrong. If you’ll let me, I’ll explain.”

“Do I really want an explanation?” Kim asked, fire in her tone of voice.

“What? At the first sign of potential infidelity, I get raked over the coals? How do I deserve that?” Tommy lashed out, not thinking of the consequences, just angry now that Kim would question his loyalty to her. “If anyone here has a history of cheating, it’s you.”

The silence that encompassed the line was deafening. As soon as the words had left Tommy’s mouth, he realized his mistake.

“Kim, I didn’t mean that.”

“Sure you did,” she replied tightly. “I did meet someone else. I did break up with you. I did end our long-term relationship because I thought I had met the right guy. But I also had been told that you’d already started to warm up to Kat’s advances. That you were comfortable not thinking about me because you had my replacement. So why should now be any different? Except that this time I promised to give up my life to be with you. What Tommy, once your girlfriend was back on the other side of the country you figured it was time to find a replacement again?” Kim nearly yelled, the tears held back only by her anger.

“Stop it!” Tommy yelled through the phone. “Damn it Kim, I have *never* cheated on you, and you know it. And I never would. We talked about this after the funeral...”

The mention of Trini’s death was like a slap in the face, and it brought Kim back to some semblance of her senses. Still, she was upset and frightened. Could she keep him long enough for her to end her commitment with the team before someone would steal him away?

“I... I’m sorry,” Kim stammered apologetically. “I just, I got the message about Principal Randall hitting on you, and how you weren’t making any moves to tell her you were involved and that you were actually letting her get close, I just...”

Tommy sighed at the other end of the line. He should have called Kim the moment he got in and told her about Randall’s attention. Instead, he’d blown it off as nothing and ended up having Kim have all the anxiety of their previous parting come back in spades.

“I know what you thought Kim. I remember Kat, and the messages you were getting from the team saying how well she was fitting in, and how I was letting her take your place so easily. But it’s not like that. I don’t really think that Principal Randall was trying to hit on me, not like I would have noticed or cared even if she had been,” Tommy explained honestly, “and as for my not saying anything, it was just because I didn’t think I needed to tell her about us, it wasn’t any of her business. Besides, come on, you know me... you had to literally tell me to my face that you missed me before I got the hint that you were interested in me back in high school.”

Kim giggled, and Tommy let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. They’d both realized in that moment that everything was going to be all right. That it really had been just a misunderstanding, and nothing was getting between them this time. Even themselves.

“So, let me guess, you were being nice...”

“I was trying to rescue this dino egg and Principal Randall at this dig site when the Tyrano-drones showed up...”

“So you were all concentrating on saving the dino egg?”

“Which we did, thank you for asking. It’s made a great addition to the zord lineup. And I was concerned that the students would get hurt, as well as Randall. So I was too busy with all of that to even think that she was coming on to me.”

“And you didn’t notice how she was snuggling up to you and fluttering her eyelashes, huh?” Kim asked, her anger trickling away as fast as a waterfall.

“Hey, I’m thick that way. Besides, how was I supposed to notice her trying to get my attention when I was busy thinking about you?” Tommy replied, a leer in his voice that had Kim questioning whether or not she could get another three-day weekend from the coach.

“Thinking about me how?” Kim retorted with a sexy tone of voice that had Tommy closing his eyes and fighting to control his body’s automatic response to the love of his life.

“Well, I was thinking about you and me, out on a picnic, making use of the blanket for something other than sitting on.”

Tommy let the suggestion hang, and heard Kim groan on the other end.

“Damn it, why do you have to do that?” she whined pathetically. “Now I’m going to be imagining making love to you in Olmstead Park, along the high grasses near the lake when the girls go for their weekly jog out there. How am I supposed to get through the next months with you out there and me here when you do this?”

“Sorry.”

“No you’re not.”

“Yes, actually I am. Because I’m in the same predicament you’re in. It’s all I can do sometimes to not just up and resign from the high school and fly to Boston to be with you. You’re all I care about Kim. Even being a ranger isn’t as important to me as you,” he stated seriously. He’d had eight long years to realize this truth, and it was time he shared it.

“But...”

“Look, eight years ago, yes, it would have been hard to choose. But I learned since then that you were what mattered, really mattered. In those years without you, and without my powers, the things that were truly important became crystal clear. And now that I’m a ranger and have you back, I know where my priorities are.”

“You’re not saying...” Kim gasped out, suddenly worried that her frustration at thinking he’d cheated on her was going to lead him into making what she knew was a mistake she couldn’t live with.

“No, I’m not giving up and letting Mesogog win,” Tommy quietly said, and heard Kim’s sigh of relief across the phone. “I just know that in the scheme of things, you and I are more important than my need to be a ranger. But right now, just like you, I have a commitment that I can’t place on someone else.”

“Which I’m glad for Tommy. I couldn’t live with myself if I thought you were going to throw everything you’ve worked for away just to be with me.”

“You know I wish that I didn’t have to be here, right Beautiful?” he asked suddenly, the tone in his voice almost pleading.

“You have a responsibility handsome,” she replied, using her nickname for him to assure him that everything really was fine, “and you wouldn’t be the man I love if you didn’t need to see it through.”

“I knew you’d understand. You’re in such a similar situation there, with the team...”

At the mention of it, Kim’s frustration at the earlier mess that had put her on the path to get angry with Tommy in the first place came back to her, and she took in a deep breath, filled with repressed aggravation.

“Beautiful, Kimberly, is everything okay?”

“Just the root for my irrational anger,” she replied sullenly. “Work problems.”

“Tell me. That’s what I’m here for, remember? Besides, once you move in with me, you’re going to be coming home at night and telling me about your day.”

“Anton Gregor, the head coach for the team, well he decided to drop a bombshell on the beam coaching team,” Kim started off, and then took a deep breath before continuing. “He decided that the girls can’t win with the routines that we’re teaching them. So he wants to change them.”

“That’s fairly common, isn’t it?” Tommy asked trying to wrack his brain for the buried knowledge he had from the years of watching Kim training in Angel Grove.

“Sure, if you’re not working on the International level. We have three routines per girl, one of which is their primary routine. What we’re talking about is scrapping at least two of them, and having them learn something much more involved and potentially difficult before Athens that they can do to perfection.”

“But you still have four months, right?”

“Sure, but a primary routine is something an athlete works and refines for up to a year for the Olympic games,” Kim replied angrily. “And he wants us to get them picture perfect in four months with new routines. He’s going to ruin their chances!”

Tommy stopped and thought for a moment. Was her frustration really about the change in training, or her own personal failures in the field? He only knew what little Kim had told him in the years they’d been in contact since reuniting after Trini’s funeral. But he knew she’d ended up as an alternate, never competing. The reasons why that had happened she’d never fully revealed, but he could guess that something like what was happening to the girls now could have happened to her during her training for the Pan Globals. Which would make her concern more personal that she might even realize.

“Are you sure that you’re not giving the girls and Coach Gregor less credit than they deserve? Maybe your experiences are coloring your judgment?” Tommy asked carefully, not wanting to seem like he was questioning her conclusions.

“No! I wouldn’t do that...” Kim began, and then trailed off. She knew that Coach Schmidt had done something similar to the team before choosing the final participants for the Pan Globals. It was one of the reasons she’d been put on the alternates list. She’d missed her chance because she hadn’t been able to nail the new routine fast enough.

Oh God, she thought suddenly, she *was* letting her own past get in the way.

“Tommy,” she nearly cried out bitterly, “I didn’t realize I was...”

“Hey! Stop it Kim, it’s not your fault. You didn’t know. But I know that you were just trying to keep from happening to them what happened to you. I know that, and down deep, underneath it all, so do you. You *were* good enough. It just wasn’t to be for you. If it had, who knows what would have happened to us?”

Kim sat there on her end of the line and though hard about that. If she had competed in the Pan Globals, she might have won. And then her life would have been totally different. And she might not have found her way back to Tommy.

And that was a life she didn’t even want to imagine.

“No, you’re right,” Kim replied finally, her voice sounding sure and strong, like Tommy was used to it sounding. “I’m almost where I’m supposed to be. I just need to do what I can to help the girls and get myself to Reefside to be with you.”

“Good. I’m looking forward to that. I even thought about buying some *black* satin sheets,” Tommy hinted, and imagined the blush creeping across his love’s face.

“What, and have you slide across the bed like in that beer commercial. No thanks. I like my bed like I like you – strong, down-to-earth and smelling like your aftershave.”

“That I can do Beautiful. You just have to get here.”

“Five months handsome, and then you’re going to have to clear out any copies of Maxim and Playboy you might have picked up in my absence.”

“Hey! Maxim has good articles,” he weakly protested.

“Sure they do Tommy. Anyway, I’m going to write Kira back and inform her that she doesn’t have to worry, that you’re all mine and Principal Randall can wear a g-string and bikini top to school and you still wouldn’t care...” Kim said.

“A g-string? Well I might look a little...” Tommy said teasingly and heard Kim groan on the other end and hastened to add, “hey, just kidding. I love you, remember? I’m waiting for the day when you’ll be getting your ass off that plane from Athens. Memories of our weekend together are just barely going to keep me until then.”

“Me too. So how about I give you something to hold onto?”

“Like what?”

“I love you Tommy,” Kim said with as much emotion as she could convey through the phone, “so very much, and I always will.”

In Reefside, the black ranger couldn’t stop the wide smile that crossed his face. Disasters averted, everything was back to the way it was supposed to be.

“I love you too Beautiful. But I’m still gonna give Kira hell for worrying you.”

With a sigh, Kim rolled her eyes in her apartment. Some things never changed.

“Fine. I’ll warn her that you’re a bit pissed. But I should warn you that she might be able to kick your old ranger ass. She’s a yellow ranger, after all.”

“She can try. Anyway Kim, I’ll let you go. I know the phone bill isn’t something either of us look forward to.”

With that, Kim looked down at her watch and groaned again. It was really late.

“Shit, I didn’t realize how late it was. I have to go. Love you...”

“Me too.”

Tommy hung up the phone, staring at it as he decided how he could get Kira back properly. Maybe an oral presentation on dinosaur genomes... hmm, maybe. But whatever he ended up doing, he had made sure he still had what was important – Kim.


	11. Beyond the Sea

There were a lot of things that Kira didn’t care for, and the way that Trent’s father seemed to treat him these days was one of them. Trent had dreams, but Mercer didn’t seem to care what those dreams were or if Trent even wanted to follow in his footsteps. His agenda was all mapped out, and he was going to haul his son along, even if that wasn’t what was best for *him*.

She’d been seeing it for a while, but yesterday’s phone call before the Turboflowershark monster showed up had really brought it all home. Of course, the fact that she’d been looking forward to the time with Trent for days before hand didn’t help. Still, what Mercer was doing to his son was wrong, and she wasn’t the type of girl that would hold her tongue when she saw something that she felt was unfair.

“I don’t know why he treats you like that,” Kira complained as Trent came around the counter to stand in front of where she sat at the bar.

Trent dropped his head, trying to not stare at the girl whom he found so intriguing. It was just his luck that every time he started to get to know her better, his dad or something else conspired to pull them in opposite directions. Two of those ‘things’ that seemed to get between him and his attempts to spend time with Kira sat now at the LAN connections lining the back wall – Ethan and Conner. No matter that everyone said that the three were nothing more than friends, Trent still felt at a disadvantage. They spent so much time together. What chance did he have with Kira?

Still, he really wasn’t having much luck finding time to spend with Kira on his own front, what with his dad’s recent obsession with grooming him to take over the business. He sighed and brought his eyes up to meet Kira’s.

“He’s a good dad. He wants to make sure I’m taken care of. It’s just that he wants different things for me than I want for myself.”

Kira nodded. She’d gotten that much from her few encounters with Mercer. She still didn’t understand his relationship with his son though. Or with Dr. O for that matter. But Dr. O was an adult, and could work out his own issues with is former partner on his own. Trent was another matter. And how Mercer seemed to be throwing away his son’s talents for his own ambition was where her concern lay.

“So, would you’d like to do something with your art? You’re really good at that. Maybe you could be a comic artist after graduating?”

“Maybe. Or I thought I’d look into art school, maybe do digital effects, like for LucasArts or one of the other digital companies.”

“That would be so cool!”

There was a moment of awkward tension as they felt the connection, but it only lasted a second, as Trent and Kira both backed up emotionally.

“Yeah. I’m sorry we didn’t get a chance to look at the art I’m working on for your demo yesterday,” Trent commented embarrassed.

“That’s okay. I mean, you can show it to me today, right?” she asked with a smile and her own nervous tone to her voice.

“Uhh, sorry... my dad scheduled a meeting with me and one of his advisors today after I leave. Maybe Friday?” Trent said with some apprehension, hoping that Kira wouldn’t be upset.

“Ohh. I understand. Well, maybe Friday then,” she replied, her smile sliding slightly.

“Great. Anyhow, I have to go. I’ll see you in class tomorrow.”

With that, Trent headed for the door, with Kira watching him leave. She’d just barely let out sigh of depression before Ethan and Conner appeared on either side of her, watching her watch Trent leave.

“You like Trent?” Ethan asked in a shocked voice.

“He’s a friend,” Kira defended, turning on her seat to smack at her fellow ranger. “I still haven’t gotten to see the demo designs yet. His dad had been keeping him on a short leash.”

“Come on Kira, admit it. You like him for more than his helping you out with your demo cover,” Conner commented, wiggling his eyebrows as he dropped down onto the stool beside her, throwing an arm around her shoulder conspiratorially. “Why don’t you ask him out?”

Shoving at his arm, Kira furiously stared at Conner. How dare he!

“It’s not like that!” she nearly yelled. “What? Do you guys still have Nikki on the brain that anyone who even remotely shows interest in someone of the opposite sex has to be in love or lust or something?”

Startled, both Conner and Ethan backed up, and Kira jumped from her seat and stalked towards the door, leaving her teammates in the dust. The two male rangers watched their female counterpart slam the door behind her, and then turned to each other with looks of astonishment.

“The lady doth protest too much,” smirked Ethan, and the two laughed together.

-

It had been a long day, and Tommy Oliver was more than ready to crash and worry about the lesson plan for the rest of the week when he woke up. But he wasn’t going to be able to sleep if he didn’t make his call.

Tommy picked up the phone and pressed the speed dial for Kim. With all the calls he’d been making to her since they’d really heated things up, he’d decided to just program it into his phone. Actually, as the phone rang, he thought about the discussions they’d had recently about their phone calls. The last time they’d e-mailed each other, he’d suggested getting a better long distance plan, or cell phones, but Kim had reminded him that there was only a few more months before she’d be leaving for Greece, making that idea not the best one.

She had told him that signing up for some plan for 2 years when by the fall she’d be living with him didn’t make much sense. And as good as cell phone service was, she didn’t think that she’d be getting service in Athens. Grudgingly, he’d acquiesced, but was making his plans to make sure that he’d still get his fix of his love while she was in Athens... he planned to send her a stack of International calling cards before she left for the games.

Finally the phone stopped ringing and he heard one of his favorite words in the English language spoken by his most favorite person in the world.

“Hello?”

“Hey Beautiful,” he said as he felt is emotions rise at the sound of her voice across the line.

“Hey yourself handsome. So, what’s the news today? More monsters or a tough day at school?” she asked happily.

“Both. You know how it is. No rest for the weary.”

“Yeah, I get that. What else is new,” she smirked over the phone, and he couldn’t help but smile.

“Funny Kim.”

“So, really, is there anything new? I heard a rumor that you had a celebrity in town.”

“Should I even ask how you heard about that?” Tommy questioned, assuming that one of the infatuated guys had to e-mail Kim and tell her the whole story, not mentioning the acne part though, he was sure.

“Entertainment television tonight. They made a big deal about that Ocean Alert starlet being in Reefside.”

“Nikki Valentina. Boy, prima dona doesn’t even scratch the surface on her. But we made sure she stayed safe,” he remarked with a touch of irritation.

“What, you guys came to the rescue, but failed to gain her notice? You mean she ignored the hunk of hot ranger in black spandex?”

“She totally blew off all the male rangers,” he said with a verbal shrug.

“Good. That means I don’t have to go kill her then,” she stated in a tone that didn’t sound all that joking.

Tommy had to grin at that. After Principal Randall’s attentions, he’d realized that Kim had just as protective and territorial an attitude over him as he had about her. Of course, after they’d been together just a few weeks back, everything had really crystallized. He couldn’t say how he’d take to someone hitting on Kim right now, but he had to think that it wouldn’t be pretty.

“No, you don’t have to go hunt her down Beautiful. There’s only one woman in my life right now Kim, and considering how enthusiastic you when you were here, I don’t think I could handle more than just you.”

“Just you remember that.”

“Speaking of love connections, it seems that Kira might have a gentleman friend,” Kim commented off-handedly, even though Tommy could tell from the tone of her voice it was anything but.

“I don’t know what you mean Kim,” Tommy replied dumbly, shifting on the couch to stretch out his feet.

“She mentioned a young man in her classes who works at the cybercafé. Trent. I believe he’s Mercer’s son.”

“Right, Trent... she and he are friends.”

“You really are dense, aren’t you?” she asked with a hint of humor coloring her voice.

“What?” he asked curiously and concerned.

“She’s interested in him. And she thinks he might be interested in her. Ethan mentioned something similar in a recent e-mail. Seems that you have a ranger in love on your hands.”

“You must be mistaken. I would have noticed if they were dating.”

“Not if there wasn’t anything like that going on. They’re not dating Tommy. They’re just circling, you know, trying to figure out if the other person shares their feelings. Come on, you can’t tell me that you’ve forgotten the first year of our ‘relationship’, have you?” Kim asked, surprised.

At her words, Tommy started to figure out exactly what Kim was talking about. The memories of Kim and him during those early months of their ‘courtship’ bubbled up, flowing through his mind like fine wine. The coy looks, the little comments, the need to check on one another, the nervous smiles and glances away. God, how had he missed it he thought suddenly.

“Oh boy. Well, I was expecting it to be Conner first, but....”

“First how?”

“To start having to perfect the ‘date’ lying. I mean, between Jason and Rocky, I watched the guy rangers dating attempts fall apart around me. I was figuring it would be Conner with a girlfriend first.”

“You need to stop being such a sexist.”

“Me? Sexist?” he asked offended.

“Yes you, Mr. White Knight. How many times did you come to my rescue during the day? And when you couldn’t rescue me, you went into the whole guilt trip thing. Kira isn’t a delicate flower. Hell, I wish I’d been half the tough chick she is when I was in uniform.”

“You were Kim. I just always was overprotective of you. Even if I didn’t have to be.”

“And this stopped when?” she asked with a laugh, and he couldn’t help but join her.

“Okay, maybe I haven’t gotten past trying to take care of you. Can I help it if I love you so damn much that I want to make sure nothing ever touches you or makes you feel pain?”

“You can’t protect me, or Kira for that matter from the world.”

“So, do you think that there’s something there?”

“Maybe. They’ll have to figure it out themselves.”

“I just hope it goes better than our early days,” Tommy commented seriously.

“Please. Unless Trent becomes some monster or turned evil or gets a ranger power, I don’t think you have to worry. I mean, you were mister sweet guy, rescuing me from Bulk and Skull, then the next you’d were all evil green ranger. There’s no way that Kira could be that unlucky.”

Tommy shrugged and thought back. Damn, how the hell had he been lucky enough to get Kim after nearly trying to kill her?

“You know, one of these days, neither of us are going to remember that I tossed you and our friends from your zord as a first impression.”

“Sure we’re not. I’m sure that Jason will make some comment about it at our wedding.”

Once the words passed her lips, Kim suddenly went dead silent. She couldn’t believe what she’d suggested, and Tommy was just as dumbfounded. But he found his voice first.

“Beautiful, did you just insinuate that...”

“A slip of the tongue,” Kim demurred, but it didn’t sound convincing to either of them.

“You know I...” Tommy started to say when there was a knock at the door. “Hold that thought Kim.”

Without putting the phone down, he walked to the door with it still in hand. As he opened it up, he found Conner and Ethan at the door. Surprised, stood there with his hand on the frame, the other holding the phone to his ear.

“Hey guys, what’s up?”

“Sorry Dr. O, but we think we’ve got trouble,” announced Conner as he and the Ethan pushed into the living room.

“Kim,” Tommy started, then got cut off.

“I heard. Those rangers with their loud voices. Look, you take care of whatever is going on, and we’ll talk later. There’s nothing that’s urgent,” she insisted.

“But...” he stammered, still reeling with the Freudian slip Kim seemed to have made.

“No buts. Go save the world or whatever. I’ll be here when you get done.”

“Okay Kim. I’ll call you soon.”

“Be careful handsome,” Kim softly said, then got out in a rush, “I love you.”

“Love you too.”

With a quick jab at the talk button on his phone, Tommy then turned around to look at his rangers. The looks on their faces didn’t make him happy. Sighing, he turned and headed to the command center to figure out what the hell was going on, Ethan and Connor on his heels.


	12. Déjà Evil pt 1: Once There was a Green Ranger…

An evil white ranger.

I never thought I’d live to see the day again.

I got up from the floor where I sat with the rest of the team in the command center/basement of my house and ran a hand through my hair in frustration. It seems like so long ago, but all I could think of the second he showed up was me, and how once upon a time that was *me* being the evil ranger.

God, now I know how Jason must have felt trying to stop me but not hurt me. It’s just unbelievable.

I pace the space in front of where I’d just been sitting, feeling the eyes of my students and rangers as well as Hayley’s as I tried to figure out what to do. Except all that I can see, all I can hear is that fight...

We got our asses handed to us out there. Even me. Hell, especially me. I don’t know if he was more powerful than an average ranger, but I know Kira and Ethan weren’t holding back before they got their powers disrupted. I tried to stop them, warn them, and in the end, we all ended up on the pavement with our powers fried. The only reason we’re still here is that whomever this guy is *let* us walk away.

Now, we have to deal with figuring out whom this guy is, what he really wants and if we can defeat him or rescue him. And truthfully I don’t know what to do now.

“Tom?” Hayley calls from her place at the computer and I turn slowly to look at her. She knows some of the story, but not enough to understand.

“Keep trying to figure out who he is and where he came from. Use what little we gathered from our last meeting and try and sift out the dino gem influence. We need to find him.”

“What then?” asks Conner, standing up from his spot on the floor.

“Maybe we can reason with him,” I explain carefully.

“Reason?” Ethan questions angrily. “He’s evil! He tried to kill all of us. You heard him Dr. O. He said there were three rangers, or I guess four too many. How are we supposed to reason with that kind of thinking?”

“It may not be as clear cut as you make it out Ethan,” I try to clarify, feeling my own surety at my statement trickle away like melting snow.

“What, is he not evil?” Kira says, still sitting on the floor, staring up at me, looking for some kind of answer that will help them make sense of it all.

“It could be a lot of things. But until we find out more, we can’t assume that he’s just evil and destroy him.”

They all look at me with uncomprehending stares, and I shake my head in despair and anger. I wasn’t supposed to have to deal with this ever again. It was supposed to never happen. I was going to get all the gems and make sure all the rangers were on the right side.

I wasn’t supposed to fail.

“Look, Hayley, work on the scans. Ethan, you can see if you can help. Kira, Conner, you can see if there’s any significant damage to the morphers...”

“And you Dr. O? What are you doing?” Kira asks, standing up to walk towards me, her eyes concerned.

“I have to make a phone call.”

With that said, I turned towards the stairs and head up to the main floor of the house. I feel like my legs are coated with lead each time I lift them to ascend each step. It seems to take forever before I actually open the trap door and move into the living room.

Downstairs I have no doubts that the rest of the group was most likely feeling the need to stick together, confused by this turn of events. This was *their* first experience with an evil ranger. I knew it had to be hitting them all hard. But for me, I’d been here before... and on the other side. My first instinct had been to get them all squared away with something to do, keep their minds occupied while I got a beer and called Kim.

I walk slowly from the stairs to the fridge, hauling out the last of my MGD’s and using the palm of my hand on the kitchen counter to get the cap off. A few quick swigs and nearly half the bottle later, I was ready to make the call I both dreaded and desired. Dumping the rest of the beer in the sink, I dropped the bottle in the trash and headed back to the living room.

Grabbing the phone from the charger, I held it with one hand, using my thumb to press the buttons in a slow, familiar pattern. The other end started to ring, and I found myself continuing to pace. As I walked back and forth across the floor, I brought the earpiece to my head. It didn’t take long before I heard the other end of the line pick up.

“Hello?”

“Kim,” I breathed quietly, the weight of everything sitting heavily on my shoulders.

The moment I say her name, I can almost feel the tension on her side of the line. She knows me like no other. Maybe better than I know myself. She is my soul, and if anyone or anything could begin to even scratch the surface of my conflicting emotions, the woman on the other end of the line can.

“Tommy? What’s wrong?” she asks me in a frightened tone.

“We’ve got trouble.”

“What kind?”

“An evil ranger. An evil *white* ranger,” I force out, my spare hand raking at my hair again.

“Oh God,” she murmurs, and I silently agree with her statement. “Who?”

“Don’t know yet. You know how it is, it could be anybody.”

“Maybe you can identify who it is. You could check their energy signature, or how about a mystical aura? Anyone with glowing eyes?”

“It’s still too early for a lot of that. Hayley and I tried a scan... the dino gem merged with the guy’s DNA. I don’t know if we can figure out who it is that way. And I don’t know how to search any other way. I mean, you guys were the ones searching before, and then you found me, remember? Anyway, I asked Hayley and Ethan to try and figure something out.”

There was a pause, and I thought for a moment that Kim didn’t want to discuss it anymore when she spoke up quietly, wrenching my heart with the concern in her voice.

“Are you okay?”

I felt my throat choke up for a minute, and I couldn’t speak. God how this woman knows me...

“No, not really Kim. I thought that I’d left all that behind, you know? The pain, the guilt, the memories. But as soon as he showed up, it all just hit me, *wham*, straight in the gut. Of course, the fact that he blocked my staff in mid swing and then fried out my powers might have been partially to blame for the pain.”

I could hear her unspoken concern for my well being. As a ranger, Kim knows how bruised and battered you can get in a fight, even protected by the ‘armor’ of our uniforms. And she knows that my statement about getting my powers short circuited was just the tip of the iceberg in regards to what the team probably went through.

You don’t know the half of it Beautiful.

“Is everybody okay? Are you going to be able to go after him?”

“Yeah. We all got banged up, Kira and Ethan worst, and we’re all a bit power deprived right at the moment. But everything will get fixed. We’ll figure it out.”

“You have to find this guy, and fast. If it’s a spell, then whoever he is, he needs to be freed before he does too much damage,” she urges, and I feel myself start to give voice to the question that’s been plaguing me since the white ranger showed up.

“What if that isn’t the case?”

“I don’t understand.”

“I mean, what if the white ranger isn’t good? If he really is evil, what do we do then? Do we destroy him to get the gem back and find a new person to hand over the power to? And if we do that, how do we live with that? Or do we just have to keep fighting him along with Mesogog until they give up?”

I know that I’m not being fair, asking her to tell me what to do. She’s not the leader. It’s not her responsibility. Hell, if this person is evil, and has a dino gem, it’s *my* fault for them ever being found in the first place.

“I can’t tell you what to do Tommy,” she says softly, “You’re the one who’s there. Maybe once you figure out what the white ranger wants, you can figure out if you need to destroy him or not.”

“He wants us out of the picture, or so he says,” I relate despondently.

“So did you, once upon a time,” she softly reminds me, and I feel my heart crack in my chest.

There never seems to be a day when I don’t wonder what would have happened if Rita hadn’t made me her evil green ranger. If I hadn’t treated Kim the way I did back when we’d first met. If I hadn’t attacked Angel Grove or the whole ranger team. If I hadn’t nearly killed Jase on the beach before he saved me.

Would I be here today? Would I have made the life I have? Would I have been able to connect with Kim like I have? But those were questions I couldn’t answer. All I could do was deal with the here and now. And find out if this new player was really like me, if I was dealing with ranger déjà vu, or if he really wasn’t on my side.

Either way, this wasn’t something that was ever supposed to happen to me, or another team if I could help it.

“Why did this happen Kim?” I blurt out suddenly, looking for answers I know don’t exist.

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“I’m their mentor, I *made* them. It was hard enough nearly forcing them into being rangers, since they’d bonded with the gems and we were under attack... but I never wanted what happened to me to happen to anyone else. For this team to have to face the same pain and conflict that you, Jase and the others had to. If someone’s been forced to be an evil ranger... it’s my fault Kim.”

“What?”

“Mesogog is here after me. My work, my knowledge. If I had given it to them...”

“Thomas James Oliver, don’t you dare finish that sentence!” she nearly yells through the phone, and I feel myself freeze at her use of my full name.

Okay, I think I remember Kim this pissed off at me on possibly one occasion. With that in mind, I hold my tongue as my love imparts her wisdom to me. That was why I called her, wasn’t it?

“You have never done anything but try and do the right thing. If you had given in to Mesogog, you’d probably be dead, and the Earth enslaved by now, or destroyed. Don’t you *ever* feel guilty for doing what had to be done.”

“But...”

“*No*. Bad things happen to good people. Look at every bad thing that has happened to you over the years. Did you deserve to be turned in to the evil green ranger? Did you deserve to lose the green ranger powers? Did you deserve to have Lord Zedd hate you with everything he had? Did you deserve to have me leave you? Did you deserve what Prince Gasket put you through? Do you deserve what Mesogog is doing now? *No*.”

I stop and listen carefully to what she’s saying. Yes, it all makes sense. And no, I didn’t do anything to deserve the pain I’ve been through over the years. But I still feel guilty over the fact that a ranger exists, possibly enslaved because of what I’ve done in the last couple of years.

“Kimberly, I understand what you’re saying, but it still doesn’t change the fact that this guy might be under a spell because of *me*.”

“And it’s not fair,” she simply states.

“No.”

“Life isn’t fair Tommy. If it was, Trini would still be alive. You and I would have been able to make things work all those years ago so we wouldn’t have had to spend all this time alone. Things happen, and we can’t always fix it. We’re human beings and rangers, not gods.”

“Still, this dino gem... if I had found it...”

“Yes, you might have prevented it. But it didn’t happen. You can’t second-guess what you could have done. You have to deal with the now. You know in your heart that this ranger isn’t truly evil. You know that from being there yourself. Find out who he is. Help him. And maybe in the process, you’ll help yourself too.”

As Kim says this, I wonder, would rescuing and breaking the evil ranger’s spell actually help me rid myself of some of those demons? I couldn’t break the spell on myself before. Jason had to do it by breaking the Sword of Destruction. Could my helping the white ranger finally give me peace regarding my own past?

I didn’t know the answer to that, except that I knew I had to try. If for nothing else, to help the team deal with this, and to save this guy the years of pain I had.

“Thanks Kim,” I said softly, putting every emotion I had towards the love of my life into those two simple words.

“You’re welcome,” she replies with a smoky tone, and I feel my heart swell at the thought that I am loved by this wonderful woman.

“Beautiful, I hate to say this...”

“But you need to get back down with the others and figure out a battle plan,” she states, and I smile. She knows me *too* well.

“Yeah. I really should see if I can help.”

“Go.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too Tommy. Be careful.”

With that, we hang up, and I turn to look at the trap door leading back downstairs. The battle may not be over, but I feel like with this little extra support from this woman, one who has been where I stand now, trying to rescue a ranger that I can get us *all* through this.

I take the first step towards the stairs, and with each one, I feel more confident. Maybe we can get through this. Stop the white ranger and maybe bring him over to our side.

And maybe when we do, I can finally let go of the pain that being evil left on me all those years ago.


	13. Déjà Evil pt 2: Yellow is like Pink

Tommy sighed as he stared at the screen and turned to look at his students and fellow rangers. They hadn't found anything, and it was getting late.

"Okay everyone, I know you all have other things to do, like homework, so I want everyone to head out and we'll address this more tomorrow after school," Tommy said seriously.

"But Dr. O..." Conner started to argue, and then yawned. The day had been long, and they'd been slammed about quite a bit.

"Can't we do something more?" Ethan asked.

"Not really," stated Hayley, turning from her spot at the computer. "Even I'm coming up empty right now."

"So everyone go home. I'll see you all in class tomorrow."

Nodding, the team headed out, clamoring into Conner's car. It was still early enough that they could all get some sleep and do some schoolwork. Conner drove the now familiar route, stopping at Kira's first to drop the yellow ranger at home before heading off to the other side of town to let Ethan off before heading home himself.

"Do you think we should have left, really?" Kira asked as she leaned in the passenger window and stared at her teammates.

"Kira, there wasn't anything more we could do. You heard Dr. O and Hayley. They would know," Ethan stated simply.

"Besides, I don't know about you, but I have homework I have to finish, or I'm screwed," said Conner seriously.

"Oh no! I forgot. I have an English paper due tomorrow!" she nearly yelled as school took precedence over evil rangers.

"Better get to it then."

With that, Kira turned and headed inside as Conner and Ethan drove off. She quickly ran in, made her apologies for being late to her family as she grabbed an apple and a glass of water and headed for her bedroom to try and study. Once in her room, she pulled out her textbook and fired up her computer. She had done the reading; she just had to type out the paper.

She munched on the apple as she sat at her computer; trying to put together the English assignment Mr. Hanson had given the class. But she just couldn't get her head into it. Instead, all she could think about was the mysterious appearance of the evil white ranger, how the team had gotten their asses kicked and how it had seemed to really affect Dr. O.

They'd all ended up being without their powers temporarily because of the white ranger. She and Ethan had been all about stopping him however they could. But Dr. O had told them to be careful, had tried to stop them from charging in. Yet they hadn't listened and they had *all* ended up getting beaten.

Now, they still had no idea who the white ranger was, no prospects of being able to stop the guy and she had this damn paper that just didn't want to get written.

Plus, there was Trent... The last time she'd seen him, he'd been acting strangely, and the fact that was seriously acting like his dad - really obsessed and cold worried her more than she could say. She shivered just thinking about it. She didn't know if Trent was really starting to become like his 'adoptive' dad, or if he was just trying too hard to be what Anton Mercer wanted him to be.

Kira sighed and turned back to the computer. Maybe if she took her mind of it all for a few minutes she could get back to the paper. She glanced at her open programs and opened her e-mail. There she noted that she had a new mail pop up, and she gave a little smile. Some diversion... Maybe it was one of the guys, feeling the need to talk, or one of her online friends.

As she closed the message box, she scanned her e-mail mailbox and was surprised to see Kimberly’s e-mail address. She and Kim had become friends during her visit to Dr. O weeks back, and when Ethan had gotten Kim’s e-mail address, she’d been corresponding with the former pink ranger every now and then, like when Principal Randall had been mackin’ on Dr. O... But Kira had always been the one to e-mail her older counterpart.

Kim e-mailing her without Kira contacting her first was uncommon, to say the least. And that worried her.

Clicking the message open, she quickly started to read.

[Kira,

I apologize for intruding like this, and I hope that the inroads we’ve made to be friends will allow me to sort of dump this on you. I spoke with Tommy earlier and he mentioned that there seems to be a new player in the game out there. One that should be on your side.

I don’t know if Tommy really ever came out and explained the circumstances of his being chosen all those years back, but I know that this situation is bothering him more than he’s letting on. I wish I could be there, and since I can’t I was hoping you could tell me what’s going on.

Look, I really could use someone there who can tell me the truth.

Could I call you?

Kim]

Kira sat there, almost amazed at the sentiment from Kim’s plea. Without a second thought, she quickly replied with her home phone number and sent off the message.

Besides, she could use someone to talk to as well.

-

Half an hour later, Kira was still nowhere near done with her paper and was just about to give up on the former pink ranger calling when the phone rang. She jumped up, tossing papers and books aside as she scrambled for the phone.

“Hello?” she said as she picked up the receiver.

“Kira, hey, it’s Kim. Sorry for calling so late, I appreciate you letting me call you.”

“Don’t be stupid, us power ranger women gotta stick together. So, what’s up with Dr. O? He’s all moody and angry. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him like this, even with Mesogog nearly trying to kill him before he got the black dino gem.”

Kim’s sigh on the other end of the line made Kira more worried than she had been when she’d gotten Kim’s e-mail.

“Kim?” Kira questioned, her concern evident in her voice.

“I know the team learned about the history of the rangers from Tommy’s video journal when he’d been kidnapped by Mesogog,” Kim started, then refocused her thoughts and continued. “But did it really go over what happened to him under Rita’s influence?”

“Not really. It showed him all evil though and that Jason, the red ranger freed him, allowing him to choose to use the green ranger power for good.”

Kim sat heavily on her couch in her Boston apartment, trying to decide if she should burden her younger ranger counterpart with the knowledge she’d carried since that fateful day when Rita had taken Tommy. Wasn’t it enough that they were dealing with their own unknown evil ranger? Would Kira knowing the full truth about the evil green ranger help or hurt in the long run?

Still, she had Tommy’s emotional well being to consider. And for Kim, that always outweighed anything else. Even her own...

“I’m sure it did. But I’m sure that what it didn’t show was that afterwards and probably to this day Tommy’s been plagued with guilt over what he did under the influence of evil.”

“So?” Kira asked, confused.

“He’s walking around, the new black ranger, with a new team of rangers and now he’s the one who has to rescue the evil ranger. He’s more than likely feeling like he’s responsible for whomever it is being in the situation that they’re in,” Kim tried to clarify, thinking of her own time as the power ranger facing the evil ranger, and how that had confused the team.

“But he didn’t make whomever this is evil...”

“That’s not how Tommy looks at things. I’m sure you know he was feeling bad about making you guys rangers in the first place...”

“Yeah, Conner said that he and Jason talked about it with Dr. O when he came into town.”

“He feels responsible – first for having to create rangers in the first place, and now for his technology more than likely being used by Mesogog to create an evil ranger to attack you. The last thing Tommy can handle is not being able to protect the team or people he cares about.”

“But you guys saved him. I mean, he has to know that we’ll all help get this guy.”

“At what cost?” Kim questioned sorrowfully. “Sure, we rescued Tommy, but the scars aren’t all his. I know Jase feels bad that we hadn’t stopped him sooner, reduced the damage the evil green ranger did...”

There was a long silence, and Kira started to listen a little more closely to how Kim had been talking, remembering what she had learned about Kim and Dr. O’s relationship back when they’d been rangers. She and Dr. O had been together for a long time. Kim had even mentioned that she’d fallen for Dr. O at first sight. Which was before Dr. O had been forced into becoming the green ranger.

“And it affected you too, didn’t it?” Kira questioned quietly.

“I...”

“Dr. O went bad just when you guys were starting to get to know each other. You can’t tell me that something happened. I can hear it in how you talk about the cost. And Dr. O just sort of avoids the subject, especially since the white ranger showed up. I know he went upstairs and called you when we got in from our fight with the white ranger. You had to be feeling some déjà vu too.”

“I was,” Kim admitted finally. “It was hard. Knowing how I felt, how the whole team felt knowing that there was an evil ranger that wanted us gone. I never wanted him to have to feel the frustration, the anger that we all did when we faced him as an evil ranger. That *you* all are facing now.”

“Personally though Kim, didn’t Dr. O being evil back then do more damage than you’re saying?”

“I... We’d just met. He’d rescued me from a confrontation with the local pain in the ass bullies, and there’d been this connection. He was supposed to meet me, and the gang later that day. But Rita got to him before he could make it. And then Tommy started acting strangely towards me... I didn’t know he knew who I was, that I was the pink ranger immediately. All I knew was he’d gone cold on me. Cruel.”

On her bed, Kira listened as the former pink ranger opened up and shared her experience with facing her future boyfriend as a bad guy. As Kim continued, talking about the fights and the fears, Kira could only be grateful that she wasn’t in that position. She didn’t know how Kim had been able to forget all that and be with Dr. O. It just seemed that it would have been hard to separate evil Dr. O and non-evil Dr. O. Kim must have really cared about him early on to give him the benefit of the doubt, even if he’d been under the control of an evil sorceress.

Still, it gave her reflection on her own confused emotional state. With a deep sigh, Kira laid back on her bed, trying to wonder what it would be like if it was Trent and her in Dr. O and Kim’s roles... She didn’t like to even think about it.

“What’s wrong?” Kim asked, concerned about her normally happy-go-lucky ranger friend as she heard through the line the disturbing sigh the yellow ranger let lose.

“I was just thinking about someone I know. Trent, the guy I mentioned... he’s been acting kinda strange lately. I was just thinking what it would be like for me and him if we were in you and Dr. O’s shoes.”

At Kira’s suggestion, the line went silent. The idea that Kira could ever have to be in Kim’s shoes bothered Kim more than she would have thought. For Kira, the situation she was in with an evil ranger, and Trent’s recent strange behavior just seemed to be doubly problematic. There was *no* way that she could end up repeating history...

“Is there any possibility that Trent’s behavior is just nerves or stress?” Kim questioned softly, her own fears tightly controlled.

“Oh yeah! His dad, Mr. Mercer, he’s been all pushing his company down Trent’s throat, trying to get him to follow in the family business. Why?”

“It’s just... it reminds me a lot of when Tommy...”

“Yeah... I can see how it could,” Kira replied. “But it couldn’t be that. He’s been acting strange for a while, before the white ranger showed up.”

“Good. I guess that just means that you have two problems to deal with at once,” Kim half joked.

“Well, I’m good at multi-tasking.”

“Just be careful Kira. Evil rangers don’t have to hold back.”

“I will. We’ll get this guy. We’ll stop him,” Kira assured Kim.

“And take care of Tommy for me, okay? He’s still got to figure out whom this guy is. He’s gonna get more personally invested as time goes on.”

“Okay... Hey Kim, it was good talking with you.”

“Same here.”

“It’s gonna be so cool having you here in the fall...”

“Tommy mentioned that?” Kim asked, surprised.

“Mentioned? Dr. O couldn’t talk about anything else for like two days. And boy did he let us slide while his head was in the clouds. You need to come out for another visit soon,” Kira laughed.

The two both laughed some more, then felt the moment slip away.

“Just be careful Kira,” Kim stressed.

“We will Kim. I promise.”

With that, Kim hung up, feeling marginally better with Kira’s assurance that she’d keep an eye on Tommy. But she was concerned that the situation with Trent might just be déjà vu again... and it was something she didn’t want her friend to have to face.

But she couldn’t help them.

She had to trust that what she’d told Kira and Tommy would help them get though it all.


	14. Déjà Evil pt 3: Black as Despair

“Well, that was like the worst day ever,” Conner nearly groaned as the team sat in the corner of the basement command center where Dr. O seemed to be excavating a new dinosaur skeleton imbedded in the wall.

“Brutal,” Ethan agreed, his shoulders slumped as he sat there, looking at his teammate.

“There’s gonna be a lot of days like this guys,” Tommy stated matter of factly as he walked through the gathered teens, and then turned to watch them all with a look of grim determination and nervous tension.

Kira looked up at where he’d passed her, he mouth falling open.

“Uh, whatever happened to the glass is half full?” she questioned, knowing their usually supportive teacher and fellow ranger wasn’t the type to get discouraged easily, but rather focus on the positive.

“Sometimes it’s not. Sometimes it’s empty,” he said stoically, and then turned more controlled, “but that’s when you gotta dig deep. That’s when the qualities that made you rangers become most important.”

“You’re right,” Conner stated, straightening up a little. “What can we do?” 

“Go have a little fun. Ethan, isn’t there a new video game you want to check out?” Tommy asked, looking at the young black man.

Ethan stared off towards the floor sullenly. Dr. O’s question had made him consider just what this white ranger business was doing to him…

“I never thought I’d hear myself say this, but I have no desire to go near a computer,” he remarked, and then looked at Kira, who had turned her head to watch him

“I know what you mean. I haven’t picked up my guitar in days,” she said, swiveling her head to look at Dr. O.

“Go on. Teacher’s orders,” Tommy stated, looking at each of his ‘charges’ in turn.

Kira, Ethan and Conner simply stared at their teacher, mentor and teammate. He was telling them to not worry about the white ranger and have fun? They all seemed stunned by the request.

“Go.”

With some reluctance, the group got up and started for the door. As they left, Tommy turned and watched them leave, his own emotional well being hanging by the proverbial thread.

“Enjoy yourselves now, because this is only going to get worse,” he stated to the empty chamber.

As he turned around again, he stared at the exposed dinosaur protruding from the wall. It had ruled the Earth for centuries, and now it was a fossil in his basement. If he, Hayley and the rest of the team didn’t find some way of stopping the white ranger, and soon, they might just end up going the same way as their dino predecessors.

He had spent the last confrontation trying to heed Kim’s words from his last call with her. That he wasn’t responsible for either the white ranger’s situation or the team having to face an evil ranger. But Ethan’s words had cut him. Since when were there bad rangers?

Since he’d been a ranger, thank you very much.

And still, knowing what he knew, having been a ranger for so damn long now, he’d underestimated the white ranger. Again.

And his team had paid the price for it.

Without thinking, he moved to the folding ladder and sat on it, settling his elbows on his knees and letting his head drop to his hands. 

It hurt. God it hurt. And he didn’t want to share it with Kim. God knew it had torn him apart to hear the pain in her voice the last time he’d called. Memories of the past haunted them both, he’d found out. He couldn’t pour more salt in her wounds if he could keep her away from this.

All he had to do was not call her, not tell her what was going on.

For as long as he could hold it together without hearing her voice wash over him and heal him.

Except that he wasn’t sure if he could do it on his own.

\----

Kira, Ethan and Conner walked up to the main area of Dr. O’s house and out the front door to Conner’s car in silence. Each of them lost in their own thoughts, they slowly winded their way from the front porch to the sports car. 

For Conner, it seemed that he never could live up to the mantle of his color. He glanced at his friends and wondered if one of them should have been the red ranger, rather than him. He’d felt better after he’d decided to stay the red ranger when he’d had the opportunity to play soccer professionally. Then when Jason had come through town, he’d felt that maybe he could do this. Maybe he could be a good leader. Now he wasn’t so sure.

With Ethan, it was more of a fear that even all his knowledge and abilities, he and the rest of the team just couldn’t beat this guy. And he and Hayley had worked with Dr. O to try and figure out who this evil ranger dude was, to no avail. Neither science or smarts had succeeded in anything, and it was starting to scare him.

Kira however was feeling a different concern. After her talk with Kim the night before, she was starting to see the cracks that the previous pink ranger mentioned she was worried about with Dr. O. The whole thing was taking on epic proportions, and she couldn’t see a way to stop it.

“Do you really think we should leave him here alone?” Kira suddenly asked, her hand resting on the roof of Conner’s car as Ethan started to open the passenger door for her to get in the back seat.

“He told us to leave, go have fun,” Conner argued.

“Yeah, but, shouldn’t we be sticking together, just in case?” Ethan questioned, now wondering if taking the time to ‘go have fun’ was really what they needed; what Dr. O needed.

“Please, like you care,” Kira said icily to the blue ranger.

“What do you mean by that?” he snapped, backing up to stare the yellow ranger in the face.

“I mean you and your dumb ass remarks about ‘since when are their bad rangers’ today. And the one about evil power rangers the last time we went up against the white ranger.”

“Kira…” Conner started, beginning to move around the car towards the two.

“Are you really that insensitive? That wrapped up in yourself. Or are you just stupid?” she demanded.

“Hey, I didn’t do anything. All I said was the truth. We’re all good guys. Rangers have always been the good guys,” Ethan defended, getting in Kira’s face.

“So, that’s why Dr. O spent his first days as a power ranger trying to kill Kim and the rest of the original team?” she threw back bitterly.

Suddenly, Ethan froze, his face paling. He’d forgotten. Conner had made his way over to where Ethan stood and had his own epiphany at Kira’s words. They’d been so caught up in dealing with an evil ranger, none of them had remembered that while the shock they were feeling was bad, what their teacher must be going through must be ten times worse.

Except Kira had realized it.

“How…” Conner started to say, and Kira bowed her head in shame.

“I didn’t remember either,” she admitted quietly, and then slowly raised her head to meet her teammate’s eyes. “Kim called last night. She was worried about Dr. O.”

“She called you?” Ethan asked, now feeling drained as he slumped against the side of the car.

“Yeah. You know she and I got close while she was here last month. You know, ranger women needing to stick together and all. So, after you got her e-mail address, I’ve been keeping her up to date with everything.”

“Did you tell her about Principal Randall’s flirting with Dr. O?” Conner asked suddenly, his face breaking into a half smirk, despite the dire circumstances they were dealing with.

“Huh?” Ethan blurted out, looking from Conner to Kira.

“Uh, yeah…” she remarked, flushing and bowing her head.

“I thought something was up,” Conner laughed. “That oral presentation that Dr. O had you do on the Triassic period seemed out of the blue. And none of the class had to do one.”

“Kim sort of freaked about it and she and Dr. O must have gotten into it. She e-mailed me that they’d sorted it out and to be warned he wasn’t happy about my ‘meddling’. When he assigned the project to me, he told me I needed to spend some time doing some real research rather than using ‘unsubstantiated thought’ in making my decisions. Hence the report.”

“Ouch,” Ethan remarked, then refocused on the subject at hand. “But that doesn’t explain how you’re all concerned for Dr. O now. What did Kim tell you?”

“She mentioned how Dr. O went through a lot of guilt at what he’d done as an evil ranger. And how the team suffered for not being able to find out who the green ranger was. I know she feels a lot of pain herself at not having helped stop Dr. O earlier back in the day. She seemed to feel responsible for some of the guilt he has at hurting his friends, her and the people of the city while he was under the dark sorceress’ spell.”

The three rangers looked at one another with concern. They’d been so preoccupied with destroying the white ranger they’d never considered that he might be ensorcelled like Dr. O had been. And if that was the case, they’d wanted to destroy an innocent.

“Oh shit,” Conner said as he slumped next to Ethan against the car.

“Yeah,” Kira said, joining them.

“So what do we do?” Ethan asked, totally at a loss.

“I don’t know. Should we go back down there?” Kira suggested.

Silence surrounded them as they thought about it. Could they really do something for their teacher’s spirits when they’re own were just as crestfallen.

“Look, let’s give him some time. Maybe he’ll call Kim and get his head on straight,” Conner said, pushing away from the car. “Come on, I’m gonna drop you guys off, and then try to find a pick-up soccer game in the park. I need the break. We *all* do.”

Ethan nodded and moved to open the car door. Kira turned and stared at the others, feeling torn. She’d promised Kim she’d keep an eye on Dr. O for her. But she couldn’t do that if she left.

Bust she couldn’t do that if Dr. O wouldn’t let her.

“Alright. But I’m calling Kim once I get home. Maybe she can get him to talk to her.”

Shrugging, Conner got into the car and turned over the ignition as Ethan and Kira got in. It was a familiar drive, and it didn’t take long before both Kira and Ethan were home, and Conner headed for the park, trying to not think about the mistakes he’d made, and how he vowed mentally that he wouldn’t let his legacy down again.

\-----

Kim paced in her apartment in the suburbs of Boston. She’d been waiting for Tommy to call, to let her know if they’d been able to find the white ranger and see if he truly was under a spell. Yet the phone had yet to ring. After the first hour, she’d paced, trying to decide if she should call him.

After the second hour, she’d called his house and gotten the answering machine. She’d left a message, just asking him to call, and then hung up to sit on the couch.

When hour three passed, she couldn’t stand the worry that had seeped into her soul. He should have called. Someone should have called. With reluctance born of fear, Kim grabbed the phone and called Kira’s house. After six rings, she hung up and nearly threw the phone across the room.

“Damn it!” she yelled in her empty apartment.

When she’d talked to Tommy last, she knew something was seriously wrong. She’d fought her fears and assured herself that just telling him that things would be fine was enough. Yet she’d still been concerned enough to e-mail and then call Kira.

That call had ended up opening more of her own hidden secrets than she’d planned. Kira seemed to understand Kim’s fears, and had promised to keep an eye on Tommy.

But no one, *no one* was better at taking care of him than she was.

If he didn’t call before she left for work the next morning, she was asking for a leave of absence and flying to Reefside. To hell with everything if he needed her now.

With that, she moved to the computer and fired off an e-mail to Tommy, copying the rest of the rangers, informing them that she had tried to reach them, and would be waiting on a call, or else she’d be out on the first plane she could get the following day.

After clicking send, she thought of her lover, her soul, and the black ranger and felt the despair start to creep up on her.

Just hold on Tommy, she silently thought.


	15. Déjà Evil pt 4: White Revelations

“I still can’t believe that it was Trent that did all this,” Ethan said, walking back and forth across the stone floor of the ‘command center’.

“I mean, I really thought he was our friend,” Conner replied, watching the African-American youth pace before him as he sat in one of the chairs next to Hayley.

“Kira said it wasn’t his fault,” she stated, still focusing on the readouts on her screen.

“Please!” Ethan barked. “He had plenty of chances to come to us if that was the case. Kira asked him to stay put at the lake so we could help, but was he there when we got there? No. That sounds to me like someone who isn’t as honest as he’s making out.”

“And there’s still the matter of trying to kill us multiple times… and fossilizing Dr. O,” Conner complained.

“How long is he going to be like that?” Ethan questioned, pulling up short and moving towards where their mentor, encased in the amber substance that was both imprisoning him and keeping him alive stood.

“I don’t know,” Hayley admitted reluctantly. “I’m working on it, but…”

“God, like it wasn’t bad enough to find out who the white ranger is. To lose Dr. O like this…” Conner commented, getting up from his chair and moving to stand beside Ethan.

“He’s not lost,” Hayley repeated firmly. “We’ll get him out. It just is going to take a bit of time.”

“Time that we really don’t have,” Ethan grumbled.

“But we know who the white ranger is, and we were able to stop him,” Hayley said, finally turning in her seat to regard the young men and rangers.

“This time,” Conner explained. “But what about next time?”

“I…” 

Hayley couldn’t argue the point with the sandy haired athlete. They had yet to be able to call a truce with Trent/the white ranger, and with Tommy immobile in the amber prison he was in, she was just trying to get them through the next thing. 

And then there was Kira.

Hayley still didn’t know where the yellow ranger had gone to. All she knew was that during the battle right before Trent had admitted his identity to Kira, he’d come close to killing her, but had stopped short. She wasn’t sure what the effect of all that would have on the yellow ranger.

“We don’t need to worry about that. At least that’s what Trent says,” announced Kira’s voice from the cave entrance to the basement hideout.

“Kira! Where have you been?” Ethan asked as both he and Conner converged on her as she walked into the room.

“I went out to the lake again, where I found Trent the last time. He showed up and I tried to get him to let us help him…” she tried to clarify for them, “but he wouldn’t listen.”

“Shit,” grumbled Conner under his breath.

“Now what?” Ethan asked bitterly. “We just wait for him to decide to go all evil again and try to beat the crap out of us for the hundredth time this week?”

“No!” Kira stated forcefully, grabbing Ethan’s arm and making him stand still and look at her. “He said he can’t control it, so he’s going away.”

“And you believe him?” Hayley questioned from her place at the computer screens, finally interjecting into the ranger’s conversation.

“I think he means it. I mean, if you had seen him… he looked so lost, so broken. I think he really feels like he’s changing and he can’t stop it, no matter what he or anyone else does.”

“Great. Like his promising to let you help him before speaks for his honesty,” Conner argued as he walked over to Dr. O’s enveloped form. “Did his so called concern over being evil help Dr. O?”

Kira couldn’t reply. She still was reeling from Trent’s revelation. The fact that he’d fossilized their teacher as well as nearly killed her and the guys wasn’t something that she could deal with right now.

“Look, we just need to do what Dr. O would expect of us… keep looking for a way to get him out and keep Mesagog from winning. If the white ranger shows up, we know who he is now, at least. We can keep from hurting him while we stop him,” Kira stated lightly.

“Fine,” Conner replied, glancing from Kira to Hayley. “Let’s work on getting Dr. O freed then, okay?”

With a series of nods, the team all turned to Hayley, taking on whatever task she appointed them to, working silently in the overly wrought emotional room. 

\------

At Reefside Regional Airport, a very exhausted Kimberly Hart stepped off her flight and ran through the jet way towards the terminal. She’d brought a backpack with one change of clothes to keep from having to stop anywhere except the taxi stand to get to Tommy’s house. 

The silence that had met her yesterday morning had frightened her more than she thought she could ever feel. She’d gotten up, checked her e-mail one last time for word and then headed to the gym. Once there, she simply walked into practice and asked to talk to the head coach, alone. He escorted them into his office where she informed him she had a family emergency and she needed a few days to deal with it.

Gregor had stared at her seriously. She’d never taken any vacation except for the previous month when the whole team had been given the time off. He knew that while not having Kim there was going to impact the team somewhat, he knew that Kim wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t serious.

So he’d given her three days vacation, wished her well and told her to call if she needed more time.

Without pause, she thanked him and turned and headed out the door. After returning home, she again checked for any messages, and made the calls to Kira and Tommy with no answer. Turning on her computer, she found no e-mails. Turning it off, she grabbed the phone book and the phone and started calling the airlines, looking for flights. She’d found that she’d missed most of the morning ones but that she could catch an afternoon flight that would get her into Reefside that evening. Once she’d bought the ticket to Reefside, she confirmed where the gate would be, and hung up. 

Her flight booked, she’d packed the one small (carry-on size) bag, and then caught a cab, making her way to the airport.

Now, hours later, she had arrived in Reefside, and her heart thudded in her chest as she hurried past people to find the taxis. Once she found the row of yellow cabs, it was a simple thing to give the driver the address. Then it was just a matter of time to get to his house and find out if he and the rest of the team were still alive.

Those 25 minutes seemed to her the longest of her life, and she clenched her hands the entire way in fear that maybe she was too late. When the driver finally stopped at Tommy’s house, she looked at the fare meter and threw him more than she owed him, grabbed her bag and bolted from the vehicle, running for the door.

She knocked loudly, waiting for someone, anyone to answer. Instead, she heard no one. Still, she was there, maybe there was some way to find out what was going on from inside the house. Looking about, she searched under the welcome mat and the nearby potted plant for the spare key. With her love’s memory, he’d need to have a spare key. Finally she hit pay dirt under the windowsill near the front door.

Key in hand, she slid it into the lock and opened the door.

“Tommy?” she called out, and heard nothing but silence.

Closing the door behind her, she tossed her bag by it and started looking around, hoping for a clue. She moved through the house, starting with the kitchen, and then moved to the bathroom. There was nothing there to suggest that her love and the rangers had been there recently. Still, she hadn’t heard on the news that they’d been defeated. The cab driver had been kind enough to put the all news radio on during the ride, and the fact that the world wasn’t being destroyed led her to believe that they were still alive and fighting.

When she walked into the empty bedroom, she felt a wave of near-grief wash over her. They’d had so little time together. Why the hell hadn’t she stayed when she was here last? How could she have left him, knowing what he was dealing with? How could she have fallen for someone else all those years ago and thrown away what they had, leaving them both to lose years of their relationship that no other could match?

She sighed as she found herself sitting hard on the bed, her head dropping to her knees and her hands covering her face. It always came back to that one decision. If she hadn’t met Chris, if she hadn’t been lonely, if she hadn’t thought Tommy and Kat were getting together…

God, what she wouldn’t do to go back and change it all.

But wishing for something that she couldn’t have was useless, she reprimanded herself firmly, fighting to push the tears that wanted to be shed back down. She *had* to find Tommy or the rangers. They had to be somewhere.

Of course, she didn’t realize that they all were within several feet of her… albeit beneath her.

Shoving herself back up, she moved into the living room, pacing along the floor and trying to wrack her brain for some clue. Tommy had mentioned his friend Hayley from college ran the café in town. Maybe she knew something…

With that idea in mind, Kim hurried to the desk and reached for the phone, knocking over one of Tommy’s lamps, sending it crashing to the floor.

“What was that?” Conner asked as a sudden thud from above them broke the silence.

“I don’t know, but it came from upstairs,” Ethan observed anxiously.

“Come on!” Kira urged, racing to the trap door to the kitchen with the guys right behind her.

If there was an intruder, they’d take care of it. And if it was one of Mesogog’s henchmen, then they’d send them right back to the hell he came from...

What they weren’t prepared for was the petite former gymnast that was crouched on the floor, cleaning up the mess she’d made. As they nearly came to a halt in the doorway of the kitchen, she turned and saw them standing there, her face going from pained to relieved in a split second.

“Kim!” the three called out in near unison.

The three rangers converged on the former pink ranger as she stood up and moved quickly to meet them in a flood of arms and bodies. Hugs and smiles were exchanged around, and the new rangers couldn’t help but trip over themselves trying to update her on the situation. Never had they been so happy to see someone in their lives.

“The white ranger is Trent, can you believe that?” Ethan commented, eager to share the news.

“Yeah. He told Kira. Surprised the hell out of us when she told us. Who would have guessed,” Conner added.

“Me, actually,” Kim said sullenly, sad that her hypothesis had turned out to be right.

“You?” Ethan and Conner stated in near unison.

“I talked to Kira the other night, after I spoke with Tommy when the white ranger first showed up. She mentioned that Trent had been acting strange, and I just felt a wave of déjà vu.”

“Wow,” Conner said as he felt his stomach start to fall out from beneath him and Ethan stood beside him speechless. 

He’d been really upset when Kira had yelled at them about not remembering Dr. O had been evil when they’d been trying to stop the white ranger. But when she’d mentioned it was Kim that had explained a lot of Dr. O’s actions, he’d been surprised. Now he realized that just like he, Ethan and Kira, Kim would have been going through the same thing they’d gone through with the white ranger… except that it had been Dr. O that had been the evil ranger back then. He knew it had been rough on his team, especially Kira, but he couldn’t even begin to fathom how it would have affected Dr. O and Kim to go through that, especially when they’d ended up together in the end.

“You okay?” Kira asked quietly, knowing what the former pink ranger must be feeling from experience now.

“I’m okay,” she stated, “it just brought up some memories that I don’t like a lot.”

Kira nodded, and they gave one another watery smiles. Just as Kim was about to ask where Tommy was, Conner started relaying the news again in an effort to stop the emotional rollercoaster that threatened to overwhelm all of them.

“We tapped into these new dino powers. It was so cool, but Trent still whipped our butts,” Conner informed her, his own grin wide.

Once Conner started, the other’s couldn’t help but follow suit as they informed her of what had been happening; Mesagog trying and failing to recruit the white ranger, the fact that the dino gem had been corrupted, that Trent had been defeated their last battle and that he was supposed to leave town, since he couldn’t control the power. They related everything they could think of, keeping Kim from getting a word in edgewise until she finally stopped them cold by nearly yelling over them.

“Guys wait… where’s Tommy?” she asked loudly, and they all froze.

No one wanted to tell the former ranger and gymnast what had happened. They all looked to each other, the guys’ gaze falling on Kira. Conner and Ethan both knew that the yellow ranger had become friends with their mentor’s former and present girlfriend. If anyone could break the news… she sighed and turned to face Kim, who was wearing a frightened expression, and Kira’s heart ached to have to break the news.

“Kira, please, what’s happened?” she pleaded.

“Kim… Dr. O’s been trapped in some amber prison thing,” Kira said simply, taking hold of her friend’s hand tightly.

Kim’s face went white, and Conner and Ethan both moved closer to her to make sure she didn’t pass out.

“Is… is he alive?” Kim asked brokenly, her throat tight with tears that she so badly wanted to let flow, but knew she couldn’t just yet.

“He is,” Ethan said from her right side, hearing Kim’s worried breath come out in a rush as she found out Dr. O wasn’t dead. “Hayley’s working on finding a way to get him out.”

“I need to see him. Where…”

“He’s downstairs. Come on.”

With that, Conner and Ethan led the way, letting Kira walk with Kim, their hands now tightly bonded to one another’s. While Kira was dealing with Trent, now Kim had to face Tommy’s imprisonment. Neither of them was holding up too well, and Kim hadn’t even seen Tommy yet.

“I’m glad you’re here,” Kira said, glancing over to check on how Kim was taking everything.

For her part, Kim was busy trying to push down her fear, and the look of pain that shadowed Kira’s face was enough to make her realize that there were other things that she should focus on.

“I’m sorry about Trent,” Kim said quietly to Kira, and the yellow ranger smiled weakly at the elder woman.

“Thanks. How about after we get Dr. O out, you and me have a long talk?”

The two nodded their agreement to table the evil ranger talk until Tommy was freed, and they stopped in the kitchen, releasing each other’s hand. Conner and Ethan descended the stairs first, with Kira following right behind, and Kimberly bringing up the rear. As much as she wanted to see him, Kim was finding her steps slowing as she found herself dreading what was to come, and took each step with deliberate care. Her heart slammed loudly in her chest, and when her feet finally hit the hard stone floor, she slowly turned to face her worst fear.

Kim had seen the command center the last time she was here, but there were two major differences now. First, in the seat Tommy normally would have occupied, a red haired woman was seated, and she stared at Kim with a mixture of indifference and dislike. The second was the golden colored crystal formation in one corner, with the man Kim loved more than her own life visible within.

Like a sleepwalker, she moved across the room to where Tommy was encased in his amber cocoon. With a tentative hand, she reached forward and touched the cool crystal and felt her world start to crack.

“Tommy,” she cried in a choked voice, and found herself dropping her head to the hard rock as the tears she’d held back finally broke free.

Kira was there in a flash, her arm looping over the woman’s shoulders as she tried to offer some kind of comfort to Kim. Moments later, Ethan and Conner joined her, the three of them surrounding the petite brunette with their support.

“He’ll be okay Kim,” Conner tried to reassure her, even if he wasn’t all that reassured himself.

“Hayley will figure it out,” Ethan remarked, feeling the shudders of Kim’s shoulders as she fought through the emotional wave.

With a nod, Kim agreed, and shakily moved her hands to wipe at her eyes. The rangers shifted slightly, giving Kim more room, and she took that opportunity to move away and head for Hayley. As Kim approached, Hayley stood up and moved to intercept the woman, the two of them pausing in the middle of the room.

“I know we haven’t met before,” Kim began, and watched the other woman nearly glare at her.

“No, we haven’t. Tom and I met *after* you’d broken him into little pieces.”

Kim and the rangers were all taken aback by Hayley’s comment, and while the others had no idea what it all meant, Kim did, and wasn’t about to back down.

“Yeah, I did. But I’m still the person he loves,” she replied with force.

Hayley grimaced, knowing for a fact the truth of Kimberly’s statement. As much as she wanted to force the former pink ranger out of Tommy’s life, she knew that it would never happen. Tommy would *never* let her go now. It was a fact that she’d had to contend with for longer than just the year since he and Kimberly had renewed their relationship. Tommy loved Kimberly… always, and nothing she could do would change that.

Now she had to suck it up and put it all aside.

“I know. And I’m doing everything I can to free him of the amber.”

“If there’s anything I can do…” Kim began, her face starting to collapse at the thought of not being able to free him…

“I wish there was. All we can do is keep searching for a solution.”

Kim nodded, and turned slowly back towards the amber prison Tommy was stuck in. Without conscious thought, she moved towards him, laying her hands on the crystal as she stared into the semi-transparent material at her love in uniform.

“Hey there handsome. Nice suit you’ve got there. Very ranger becoming,” she joked in a quiet voice as everyone watched her. “You know, this really wasn’t the welcome I was expecting… anyhow, you just sit tight, ‘cause, well, it’s not like you can go anywhere and Hayley will find a way to get you out of there.”

As Kim talked to the encased black ranger, Hayley found herself becoming increasingly uncomfortable watching the lovers together, even if one of them was fossilized and unable to know that the other was there. It was in that moment that she came to the decision that she’d do everything in her power to get Tommy free, so he could go back to his love.

All those years of pining after the former ranger, she’d always known that his heart wasn’t free. And now after witnessing Kimberly’s actions and emotions, she knew that she had no right to ever try to put a wedge between them. There were some people that were meant to be together.

It was obvious to her now that Kim and Tommy were two of those people.

“Come on guys, let’s try something else,” Hayley stated, bringing everyone’s attention towards her and away from Kim and Tommy.

With a last glance at Kim and Dr. O, Kira and Ethan moved to the console and began to discuss with Hayley what else they could do. Conner started forward, but then turned and swiftly moved to a corner of the room, returning with a folding chair. He walked up to where Kim stood, and placed it next to her. She glanced from him to it and then back to him again, as she left her hand braced on Tommy’s cocoon.

“I figured you might as well get comfortable, since we all know you’re not going anywhere until he’s out,” Conner stated, lightly taking hold of Kim’s hand as he smiled at her, receiving a tentative smile from her in return.

“Thanks,” she said softly, and then leaned up and gave Conner a kiss on the cheek.

His face blazed in embarrassment, and he hurriedly turned and went to catch up with the others as Kim pulled the chair closer to Tommy’s cocoon, sitting down before she realized that she would have fallen down as the exhaustion and fear finally started to take its toll. Carefully she settled in the chair and scooted it as close as she could, laying her hand back onto the crystal.

“You hear that handsome? I’m not going anywhere.”

That said, Kim leaned her head against the cool surface and closed her eyes. She’d just sit there for a little while, until Hayley and the team found something…

It was her last though before she slipped into sleep at her love’s side.


	16. Everything of Nothing

Kimberly woke up stiff. She yawned and stretched, trying to recall where she was when her hand touched Tommy’s crystal prison and it all flooded back to her. Her eyes popped open, and she found that she was still in the folding chair in his basement, the only differences being that now the room was empty of anyone save her and Tommy and someone had covered her with a blanket.

She was glad that they hadn’t woken her. She wouldn’t have moved anyway. 

Sighing, she pulled the blanket aside and stood, feeling the years of abuse to her body from gymnastics and being a ranger in every bone today. Suddenly she realized she had no idea of when it was. Where was Hayley and the team? Shouldn’t they be trying to save Tommy?

“I’ll be right back handsome,” she spoke aloud, wondering for the hundredth time if even encased as he was if he could hear her.

Quickly she made her way to the console and found a note from Hayley, simply stating that they were at a dead end, it was late and that since Tommy was stable as long as he stayed in the amber, they’d all come back later and start another round of tests to find a way to free him. 

She stood there, looking at the rest of the message when her stomach grumbled loudly.

With a slight guilty glance, Kim looked at where Tommy stood fossilized and realized that she had to leave him for a little while at least. She couldn’t do him any good if she was falling apart, and she hadn’t eaten anything for the last day or more. As it was, she wasn’t sure how long she’d been asleep.

With that, she headed slowly for the stairs to avail herself of his refrigerator, shower and some clean clothes.

The refrigerator was better than hers, but still obviously a bachelor’s. It took everything she had not to search for some liquor. Times like this were enough to drive even an ex-ranger to drink. Still, she was able to find some peanut butter and a few pieces of bread to make a sandwich, a half-decent banana and poured herself a glass of water. She ate mechanically, knowing that she needed to put food in her stomach.

Once she was fed, she went straight to her bag, simply pulling out her clean jeans and an Olympic Team t-shirt along with some basic undergarments and headed to the shower. She didn’t want to take too long, so she simply ran the bar of soap all over and rinsed off. He had a towel right outside the stall, and she dried off, and then put on her clothes, leaving the clothes she’d traveled to Reefside in folded on his hamper.

Clean but with still damp hair, Kim padded her way back down to the basement and to his side. Settling in the chair, she continued her vigil.

“I’m back Tommy,” she whispered, “and I promise I’m not going anywhere again until we get you lose.”

\---

Ethan, Kira and Conner walked into the command center that afternoon with Hayley to find Kim still sitting beside Dr. O. Hayley sighed and went straight to the console while the rangers focused on Kim. Kira could tell that she’d changed clothes, but beyond that, she was exactly where they had left her the night before. As they got closer, Kim’s attention drifted from staring at Tommy’s form to the group of rangers heading her way. She sat up a little straighter as the three teens loomed over her.

“Hey guys,” she said with a half grin. “How was school?”

“Fine. Hayley sent a message saying that Dr. O was sick, using the computer’s voice print of him. We got a weird substitute,” Ethan remarked.

“Oh, so you guys are back?”

“Yeah. Hayley’s gonna get started on another round of scans,” Conner commented, noting how the former pink ranger seemed to twist uncomfortably in her chair.

“Come on Kim,” Kira finally said, reaching a hand down to the older woman. “Hayley will call us down if she finds something that can help Dr. O. Until then, you look like you need a break.”

“Good idea. I bet you’re like Dr. O and don’t eat when you get worried, aren’t you?” Ethan stated, and Kim looked at him puzzled.

“How did you know he does that?”

“It’s obvious. But that’s besides the point. You don’t need to be sitting right here. How about Ethan and I stay down here and we’ll come get you and Kira if something happens?” Conner suggested.

“Well…” Kim began to argue, but stopped as she saw the resolve in the faces of the current ranger. “Fine. Kira, how about we go upstairs and I make us something to eat?”

Nodding, Kira headed for the stairs with Kim trailing behind her, Ethan and Conner watching them both seriously. Once the two climbed the stairs, the two male rangers turned to where Hayley was working.

“So, anything we can do?” Ethan asked.

“Not really. Why don’t you get comfortable.”

With that, Ethan fished out his laptop and Conner reached for his soccer ball and proceeded to practice. They both would rather have been upstairs in the kitchen listening to Kim tell them stories about the days of the original ranger teams, but they’d promised they’d come up with news. Still, from how Kira and Kim had been when Kim had first showed up, the two seemed like they had some things they needed to discuss on their own.

Kira and Kim moved to the kitchen where Kira pulled out a chair and sat, letting Kim forage through the refrigerator. She felt weird enough being in Dr. O’s house sometimes. But she wasn’t about to go through his fridge. That was something Kim could do though…

After a few minutes, Kim put out some carrot sticks, a couple of glasses of water and some fruit she’d been able to uncover in the back of the fridge on the table. Kim took the opposite chair to the yellow ranger and Kira stared at her until she grabbed one of the carrot sticks and started chewing. Only then did Kira relax, grabbing the water and taking a small sip. As Kim ate, she looked at the yellow ranger closely for the first time since she’d arrived. The strain she saw there made her heart ache. She remembered that all too well. She finished off a second carrot and then reached across the table to lay her hand over Kira’s.

“I can’t begin to tell you how sorry I am you had to go through that,” Kim said sorrowfully.

Kira knew instantly that Kim was referring to the white ranger’s identity.

“So am I,” Kira replied simply, her voice fairly emotionless.

“He’s confused right now,” Kim said, making a guess and watched Kira’s head shoot up.

“How…”

“So was Tommy, right after. It took him a while, even with the support of the whole team to get comfortable. But it happened. Trent will be the same.”

“I hope so. Because right now, he’s steering clear of all of us.”

“You too?”

“Yeah. I think especially me.”

“Because he likes you and doesn’t want to hurt you…”

Kira nodded, starting to get a clue.

“Tommy was very much the same.”

“Did you being you stop him from attacking?”

Kim frowned. Even though near the end she knew Tommy had known who the rangers were, he’d attacked them in battle every time. It was only when they were unmorphed that he simply settled for verbally tormenting her.

“You could say while we weren’t in uniform we had a truce of sorts. But it didn’t stop him from grabbing Jason while he was in civilian clothes, and when he was walking away. Why do you ask?”

“Trent, the white ranger stopped in his tracks during our last real battle, when my powers got disrupted. I demorphed, he stood there, looked at me, and then called me by name before he backed off.”

“I don’t…” Kim began, wondering for the first time if she could have broken Tommy’s spell like that. “No. That never happened with Tommy and me. But you should feel good about your relationship with Trent. He obviously cares for you if he could stop himself.”

Smiling grimly, Kira nodded, taking a sip of the water again.

“How did you get past it? I mean, when it was Dr. O… he tried to kill you all…”

“He wasn’t himself, just like Trent isn’t. The power of evil… it’s hard…”

Before Kim could say anything else, Conner called up from the basement and they both looked at one another.

“Let’s go,” Kira stated, and the two women headed down the stairs.

“Anything with Dr. O?” Kira called out first as she stepped down into the command center, Kim following right behind her. The two women met the others at the central computer terminal site.

“No, something else,” Hayley said, staring at the computer screen. “The satellite is picking up a strange reading in the forest.”

“Come on, let’s take a look,” Conner announced, as he, Ethan and Kira turned to head out.

As they left, Kim watched them go as Hayley stared at the energy signature and wondered what it could be.

-

As the rangers finally walked back into the basement command center after defeating the monster and retrieving a piece of the meteor, Kim and Hayley both breathed a sigh of relief to see them back to their normal personalities and clothes.

“Good to have all of you back,” Kim joked, and the three teens smiled self consciously.

“I assume you’re feeling back to normal,” Hayley said as she took the meteor fragment from Ethan, moving to machinery she’d improvised. 

“Thank goodness,” Ethan blurted out.

“I heard that,” Conner replied.

“Hey, since the meteor changed Trent to good, couldn’t we use it to fight the effects of the dino gem?” asked Kira as Hayley placed the container in the cylindrical slot.

“That may work, but let’s try this first.”

“Come on Hayley,” Ethan cheered as the group all gathered around behind the dish array and table full of equipment. 

“Activating.”

The group watched as electrical beam from the dish struck the amber, the material sluicing from Tommy’s form, and Kim found herself frozen in place behind the team, staring at the uncovering of his helmet, then his chest… when the machine sparked and blew up in a cloud of smoke. The group collectively yelled and screamed at the sound of the mini-explosion of the machine, and Kira turned quickly to the rock she thought could help Trent.

“The rock, it’s fried!” Kira cried out, pulling the casing to show the melted stone.

“Yeah, but look…” Conner said brightly, pointing to Dr. O.

“It worked,” Hayley announced as they all saw Tommy fully free of the amber and standing somewhat disoriented in place.

Conner and Ethan moved to make sure he didn’t collapse to the floor as Hayley quickly moved to power his suit down, the black ranger uniform suddenly disappearing to reveal his normal clothes. With deliberate slowness, he eased his back straighter, the movement immediately relaxing the members of the team as Ethan and Conner backed up to give their teacher some breathing room.

“Oh God Tommy,” Kim said softly as she watched him move, prompting him to quickly turn his head in her direction and look at her in disbelief. 

She really was there.

“Kim,” he said huskily as he saw her standing near Kira and the machinery, looking tired but relieved. 

He reached out towards her and she quickly ran to him and wrapped her arms around him. Everyone smiled and Kira fought back tears at the emotional reunion taking place before them.

“God Tommy, I was so worried,” she cried into his chest as his arms nearly crushed her to him. 

Tommy reveled in the feeling of having her there, in his arms when she would normally have been on the other side of the country. That sudden thought brought him up short. 

“Wait. What *are* you doing here?” he questioned suddenly, realizing that she shouldn’t be here, in his arms, even if that was the only place she truly belonged.

“I couldn’t reach you and it scared me. You had been so upset and worried when we talked last, and I thought that maybe something *bad* had happened. So I asked Gregor for a few days vacation… I haven’t taken any since I started except the extra time they gave us last month. So, here I am.”

His face fell, and she knew he was feeling guilty.

“I’m sorry for not calling you. I just…”

“It’s okay Tommy. I’m more concerned about you. Are you okay?”

“I…”

As she asked that, Hayley was there, running the scanner over him, checking her data against her files on her friend.

“He’s just fine, considering he was getting his ass kicked right before he got encased.”

“So, what happened? Did you stop Trent?” Tommy asked.

“Sort of,” Kira said, looking down in confusion.

“They’re getting through it Tommy,” Kim said lightly, tightly holding onto the love of her life, and Tommy knew that for now it was better to table the discussion.

“So, now that Dr. O’s all better, are you staying Kim?” Conner asked, making everyone swing their attention to the woman in question.

“I…”

Tommy glanced at the woman at his side. He didn’t want to scare her, but he’d heard everything she’d said to him while he’d been encased. While he’d thought he was dreaming, once he’d been freed, he’d half expected to find his lover there. But Conner’s question cut into a tough subject. Personally he wanted nothing more for her to leave her job with the Olympic team and stay with him now, but he knew they had to talk about it some more.

“You are still planning on moving to Reefside?” Kira quickly asked, concern lacing her voice.

Kim still hadn’t been able to answer them when Tommy pulled away and sat on Kim’s previously abandoned chair.

“It’s so nice to see my students worried about my love life,” Tommy sighed with a hint of humor.

“Please Dr. O. You’re lucky that Kim even wants anything to do with a high school teacher. I mean, really, do you make *any* money?” Conner said jokingly.

“Alright, enough beating up on the teacher,” Tommy nearly barked.

“Guys, I think he’s had a little too much excitement, considering he was a statue until just a few minutes ago. How about everyone head home and we’ll fill you all in after we talk some more?” Kim stated with a smile.

With some trepidation, they relented. Hayley reached past everyone and gave Tommy a hug and glanced briefly at Kim before taking her leave. For the rest, it was another round of hugs and goodbyes before they finally left, leaving Tommy and Kim alone. She turned to where he sat on the folding chair and gave him a come-hither stare that had his blood boiling just looking at her. He rose from his seat and allowed her magnetism to pull her to her side.

“So, now that they’re gone, how about I get a proper hello?” she whispered.

Smiling, Tommy leaned down and kissed her with everything he had, pulling her to him so tightly, he wasn’t sure where his skin stopped and hers started.

“Okay, how about we go upstairs, get comfy on the couch and talk about all this?” Tommy asked.

The two of them walked hand in hand to the stairs, Tommy giving Kim a little shove to send her up the ladder first. Once they were settled on the couch, Tommy took Kim’s hands in his and stared at her. It seemed they were always making decisions on couches – his and hers.

“Kim, I can’t tell you what it means that you came out here when you couldn’t reach me.”

She lowered her head, and Tommy reached over to tip a finger beneath her chin to bring her gaze back to his. He nearly gasped at the emotion he could see pouring from them, as well as the streaming silent tears that accompanied them.

“I was *so* scared. I thought I’d made the biggest mistake of my life by not staying when I’d been here last month. All I could think of was that if you were dead, I’d sacrificed everything for nothing.”

“Kim…”

“No. I learned my lesson. I can’t go back this time,” she stated emphatically. “Things with Trent still aren’t resolved, and Mesogog is still after you all. You still need me.”

“Yes, I do need you,” he stated seriously and emotionally. “But I can deal with you being in Boston. What about your job, the gymnastics team though? Don’t they factor into this?”

She frowned and then glanced away from him, and Tommy felt his heart seize in his chest. Only a few weeks ago he’d been wishing that she’d stayed when she’d been here last. And now she was saying just that. That she didn’t want to leave him again.

Except he knew he couldn’t let her do that.

“Beautiful, look at me,” he nearly whispered, and waited for her brown eyes to meet his. “I love you. And I love that you’re ready to be with me. But I couldn’t live with myself thinking that my actions, my stupidity was responsible for you giving up on something that we both know means a lot to you. Those girls. They’re going to the Olympics in a few months. And you’re supposed to be with them.”

“But Tommy…”

“No Kim. It’s my turn to make the hard decision. As much as I love you, I know that it would be wrong to hold you here. I know you’ll be moving here after the games to be with me. So, for now, you need to go back.”

There was silence for a long time, and Kim swallowed hard. She’d intentionally put the thought of the girls out of her head when she’d decided to stay. Because she knew if she didn’t she wouldn’t have been able to make a choice between Tommy and 16 girls who looked up to her and needed her guidance and support.

“If you’re sure…”

“Kim, I’ll be here in September waiting on you. I promise I’ll be more careful and that no matter what happens I will never not call you again.”

“Alright. All that really matters right now is that you’re safe and that we’re here together. Even if I’m not staying this time, I’ll be back for good soon. And when that day comes, it’s you and me – forever.”

Tommy pulled back, simply holding her hands so he could watch her smiling face even more closely. Yeah, she was right about saying that their being together forever really was all that mattered. Then a very important piece of information that had been buried by evil rangers floated back up to the surface. Something even his Swiss cheese brain wasn’t about to let go for very long.

Tommy hadn’t been able to have more than a few moments of peace the last few days, so the comment had been buried in his memory. But now, with the woman who’d dropped that bombshell in his arms, he couldn’t help thinking about it again. Kim had been thinking of them in terms of being married. Of course, it wasn’t like he hadn’t.

He recalled specifically the moment when he’d put her on the plane what seemed like years ago and thinking that the next time he got her in Reefside, after the Olympic, he wasn’t going to let her go again. And the lengths he was considering to do that.

Like marrying her.

Not like that was such a hardship. In fact, he couldn’t remember a time, even during their time apart that he hadn’t thought that one day they might get married. Of course, there was the short period of time when he and Kat were sleeping together that he had considered being married to her. But the reality of that was he couldn’t love her like she deserved, even if he’d been dreaming of their children’s children.

Kim had always been the only one he could see proposing to. Waiting at the end of a church aisle for or wondering where they should go for a honeymoon.

And he finally realized now that after her comment, he wasn’t the only one.

“Kim, what did you mean by that wedding comment before the white ranger showed up?” he asked simply and felt Kim freeze up in his arms.

Kim could recall the comment she’d let slip just like she’d said it minutes ago, not days… ‘Sure we’re not. I’m sure that Jason will make some comment about it at our wedding.’

There was silence, and he wondered if maybe he should have left well alone.

“Where’s that Swiss cheese memory when I need it,” she mumbled disappointedly as she moved away from Tommy to stand in the middle of the living room, bringing him to stand beside her.

“Beautiful, you didn’t really think I’d forget what you’d implied, did you?” he asked her seriously, taking her hand as his face took on a worried look.

“I’d hoped you would,” she began, and then went quiet as she saw the look of fear in his eyes. Quickly she raised a hand to his cheek, and he leaned into it. “Tommy, I didn’t mean it like that. I mean, damn it… I don’t know how to explain myself to you. I wasn’t suggesting that you should marry me, or that you have to marry me or anything.”

“You know I’ve thought a lot about that subject too,” he offered sincerely. 

“I…” she trailed off, and Tommy smirked, knowing he had stunned the words right out of her. Serves her right he thought, she had done the same thing to him when she’d first brought this up.

“Look,” he finally jumped in, realizing that she was feeling pressured and skittish. “I’m not suggesting anything. I just wanted to let you know that I understand.”

“I just…” she stammered out.

“You think about it.”

“Yeah,” she admitted, and bent her head as she felt her cheeks burn with a fiery blush.

“So do I,” he stated seriously as he lifted her face to meet her eyes with his own. “We’re taking things step by step. And yeah, I’d love to walk over to the phone right now, call Jase, Rocky and Adam and the rest of the guys and tell them to start the bachelor party planning, but we have all the time in the world to do that. All I care about right now is that we’re in love, and that you’re still planning on coming out here after the games.”

“I made you a promise. I’ll be here on the first flight from Athens as soon as the closing ceremony finishes. You know I can’t stand any more time away from you than necessary.”

He smiled, and then pulled her close for a scalding kiss, his hands roaming across her back and sides as she simply held his head to her firmly, willing him to never move. After breaking apart, he looked around and noticed the one lone gym bag in the corner near the door.

“You only packed one bag?” he asked teasingly.

“I was thinking about not having to wait at the carrousel when I got here…” she replied with a blush.

“Hey, I’m not complaining. That just means we’ll have to spend whatever time you have left in bed, since you don’t have any clothes…” he commented with a leer.

With that, he reached over and scooped her up, Kim gasping slightly in surprise as he swiftly carried her to his bedroom… their bedroom.

They had a lot of catching up still to do.

Part 16.5 – One Moment in Time   
.

Tommy slammed the bedroom door shut with his foot, as his arms were conveniently full of Kimberly, even though there was no one else in the house. Part of him was thinking it was one more door someone would have to open to interrupt them and one more door shutting him and Kim into their private world.

Carefully he walked to the bed, the petite body of his love tucked into his chest, her arms wrapped around his neck in possession more than for balance. Once his knees hit the edge of the mattress he leaned over to lay Kimberly on the bed. She let him settle her on the covers and stared up at him, mesmerized for the thousandth time since she’d seen him by the love radiating from him for her.

Still, no matter how much her body is screaming for her to pull him to her, he was just released from a slab of amber. He should be resting, she thought guiltily.

“Aren’t you exhausted?” Kim asked in a whisper, her eyes showing nothing but smoldering thoughts however hesitant her statement.

“I’m not *that* exhausted,” Tommy replied, as he let himself settle next to her on the soft mattress. “Especially with the most beautiful woman in my bed. I have to appreciate you when I have you.”

“I’ll be here in the morning, and the afternoon and all night tomorrow,” she remarked as he leaned in to lay feather-weight kisses along her throat.

“That’s good. It’s still a long time till September,” he murmured, the vibration of his words sending shock waves along her skin.

“Well, if you’re going to be that way about it…”

Tommy grinned against her flesh and proceeded to continue to lavish her throat with kisses and nips, progressing to a gentle sucking of her throat just below her jaw that had her writhing beneath his embrace.

“Oh God…”

Kim’s fingers dug into his back, and Tommy took the chance to release his grip and slide his hand under her t-shirt. Once he encountered the barrier of her bra, he focused his attention to the center clasp and with a few tries got it undone. He silently thanked her for wearing the easy access garment as he pushed the fabric aside and caressed her bare breast, sending another shudder through Kim’s body.

His fingers teased her nipple, feeling it stiffen under his ministrations, and her hips shifted beneath his weight. After a few moments, he pulled back from her entirely, needing to feel her flesh against his. Once he was clear of her, Tommy slid his other hand beneath her shirt and shoved it up and over her head, her bra trailing behind. 

As her shirt came free, Kim reached for his, tugging at the hem and prompting Tommy to reach down and rip the fabric up and over, throwing it to the floor. In a flash, he had his pants, shoes and socks off, his boxers following them. Turning back to Kim, he found she’d discarded her own things and now lay naked on the bedspread.

“God I love you,” Tommy whispered forcefully as he reached for her.

She came willingly, and the two tangled again in a twining of limbs, mouths and tongues. When the need to be one finally overcame all reason, Tommy pulled away briefly to grab a condom from the nightstand and tear the package open. Once the latex was in place, he eased back into Kim’s embrace.

Just to make sure she was ready, he started to reach a hand between her open legs, and Kim halted his motion. He looked at her questioningly, and she smiled and then placed a kiss on his lips.

“I need you now Tommy.”

Understanding the need to connect after fearing him dead, he pulled her closer to him and eased inside her. They gasped at the feeling – him at the fiery wet heat surrounding him, her for the invading thickness that penetrated her body, heart and soul.

Slowly he moved against her, and they rocked together, finding a rhythm that was paced and slow. Their emotions were clearly written in their eyes; the love and passion they had for one another visible for the other to see. It was that passion that pushed them forward, needing to feel the ultimate completion, the true joining of bodies.

Tommy thrusted harder, prompting Kim to arch her hips up to allow him in deeper as she moaned her appreciation of his enthusiasm. With the new position, he slammed into her harder, making them both shudder and he could feel his own orgasm nearing. Redoubling his efforts, he moved more forcefully, angling his cock to hit just the right…

“Tommy!” Kim cried out, her body bowing in the bed as her climax hit her.

He thrusted harder, making the penetrations shallower but faster and found himself falling over the cliff right behind her.

“Kimmmm!” he groaned as he emptied himself into the condom.

Once the spasms stopped, he collapsed onto her, and rolled them over to face one another. In doing so, he unlodged himself from her body and they both groaned at the loss. Still, he slid a hand between them and carefully pulled the latex from his member, tossing it haphazardly towards where he knew the trash can was.

Returning to her embrace, he sank into her, their flesh meeting in every place that could touch. He nearly could curl around her petite form, but found himself pillowing against her instead. As he rested there, he felt his eyes getting heavy and he let out a yawn. The great sex on top of his being freed from his imprisonment was starting to catch up with him, and she couldn’t say that she wasn’t starting to feel the effects of the stress making her tired too. Kim finally pushed him away gently, and he looked up startled and concerned.

“You need to go to sleep,” she said softly and moved off the bed to pull down the covers. 

After several attempts to tug the material from under Tommy’s body, he ended up getting up long enough for Kim to pull the sheets down and climb back in the bed. She held the blankets open for him to crawl under, and he nearly jumped in, allowing her to drop the cloth around him.

Fully under the covers, Kim moved to burrow into Tommy’s chest, and he wrapped his arms around her, leaning his face into her hair. He savored the feeling of her there, the smell of her skin and her shampoo before he felt himself drift off to sleep, with Kim falling right behind him.

-

When the alarm went off the next morning, Tommy realized that all he wanted to do was skip going to work. And the reason for his wanting to play hooky was lying beside him, softly snoring with an arm thrown over his stomach. Carefully he turned towards her and leaned into place a light kiss against her cheek, and then another higher up, near her ear.

Kim shifted slightly, her body automatically moving in the direction of the sensation. As the next kiss, placed on her forehead registered, her eyes slowly fluttering open to register the soft brown eyes of her ranger. She smiled and then yawned.

“Morning,” he said, laying a soft kiss on her lips.

“Good morning in my opinion,” she replied as he released her lips. “What time is it?”

“Seven. My alarm just went off.”

“You getting ready to get to the high school?”

“Actually, I was thinking… How about I call and ask for the day off?”

“You shouldn’t,” Kim scolded, looking at Tommy with a stern look.

“Why not, it’s not a big thing. I’ve been good, and I haven’t had a personal day yet this year,” he tried to reason, nipping lightly at her lips, “Besides, it isn’t like the kids aren’t going to be happier with a substitute for a day.”

“Hayley had to call in for you yesterday, so you’ve used a sick day this school year. And how are you’re going to be able to look Conner, Kira, Ethan and Trent in the eye tomorrow knowing that they knew you were here with me… and assuming what we did the whole day?”

He leaned back with that thought. Damn, he really didn’t want to leave Kim for any period of time, but she was right. He really didn’t want to have to deal with the team giving him shit for ditching class to make love to Kim all day.

“How about I come to the school for lunch? Will that make up for it?” Kim asked, smirking at him.

“Okay, let’s compromise… I’ll call them and say I’m going to be late. We can still spend a little time this morning before I have to leave and still make my first class at nine without any problem. Then you can come bring me lunch – you and something that I can feed my stomach.”

“And you’ll be home this evening around four?”

He grinned at the idea – that this was home for both of them now.

“Yup. And after that, I’m all yours. When’s your flight back again?”

“Six in the morning. So you won’t have an excuse for being late tomorrow.”

Tommy frowned at the thought that they only had one day together, and Kim saw his face fall. She leaned over and caught his face with her hands and kissed him deeply, his mouth opening to allow her to plunder his mouth with her tongue.

After long moments, she broke the kiss and stared at him seriously.

“Let’s make the moments count then.”

Nodding, Tommy threw on his boxers and pants he’d discarded from the night before and then headed out to the phone. Kim listened to him through the open door and heard him say that he was having car trouble and that he’d be running a bit late, but in his first class by nine. As he continued to reassure the school he’d be there, she got out of bed. Figuring they both could use some breakfast, she stared at her current state of undress and decided she needed to wear *something* to eat breakfast in, and opened his closet. After quickly passing on the black clothing assortment that he’s added to his collection in deference to his status, she pulled out one of his dress shirts, noting that even laundered that smelled like him. With a smile she slid the garment over her head, the shirt making an adequate dress, covering her to mid thigh.

“All done,” Tommy called from the living room, turning towards the bedroom to see what his love was up to.

“So, how about I make you something to eat before you head out?” Kim asked, walking out of the bedroom dressed in one of his button-down shirts and not much else.

At the sight of his Kimberly dressed in one of his shirts, Tommy felt his jaw go slack and his cock come awake. All he could think of was throwing her on the bed and ravishing her until they couldn’t breathe anymore.

Kim grinned at her awe-struck love, wondering how easy this man is even after all this time. How many times had she reduced him to stuttering back during their teenaged years when she’d wear a mini-skort and midriff baring top? Obviously, nearly ten years later she seemed to still be able to have that effect on him.

“Toast, eggs and bacon okay?” she asked as she moved slowly past him into his kitchen.

As she made her way to the refrigerator, Tommy had a wicked thought and moved to place his hands around her slim waist and pulled her back to him. 

“Tommy?” she questioned, confused.

“What Beautiful?” he whispered in her ear as he walked her backwards to the kitchen table.

“What about breakfast?” she said as he turned her around and boosted her onto the table’s flat surface. 

“That’s what I’m planning on doing right now,” he said smirking, leaning forward to ravish her mouth, his hands making quick work of the buttons of his shirt to lay her bare before him.

His hands teased the flesh he exposed, and Kim groaned lightly in the back of her throat, finally realizing what he had on his breakfast menu…

Tommy kissed her deeply, their breath and tongues meeting and mixing. His hands slid into her hair to angle her head so he could kiss her deeper as her own kneaded his lower back, her heels hooking around his legs. They continued to commune with one another’s mouths until Tommy pulled forcefully back. He could spend all day kissing her. But he didn’t have all day, and he had other places that he desperately wanted to indulge in.

With a light kiss to her jaw, Tommy moved from Kim’s mouth and headed south, pausing to lap at the diamond-hard points jutting from her breasts. As he pulled at her nipples, Kim moved her hands to his head, burying her fingers in his short locks.

“I love how you taste,” Tommy murmured in a smoky voice against her breast and felt Kim shudder.

Abandoning her breasts, he ran a wet tongue along her stomach, making her writhe and moan at the sensation. Dipping the tip of his tongue into her belly button, she jumped and he smirked. But his main goal was still a little farther down…

“So, you planning on eating any time soon?” she inquired in a velvet tone that had Tommy’s cock throbbing. If it already hadn’t been at full staff since seeing her in his shirt, it would have been after that. 

“Oh yeah. Buffet style too…”

Pulling Kim’s lower body to the edge of the table, Tommy dropped to his knees by the table, leaning forward and getting his first taste of the best meal a man could ever ask for. 

Flattening his tongue, he took a long, slow lick of her outer lips and Kim strangled off a near-scream at the intensity of his hot, wet tongue on her body. At that first electric contact, Kim fell backwards, her back coming into contact with the table’s surface. Licking his lips, he found slow and steady had flown out the window at the first smoky-tangy taste, and he latched onto her slit with his lips, nearly open mouth kissing her lower half, probing her folds to open her up to his tongue.

“Oh shit!” Kim yelled, her hands reaching up to grab the other side of the table as her hips jerked up and off the table’s surface.

He twisted his tongue inside her opening, his lips providing a counter suction to his ministrations that had Kim nearly twisting in his grasp. Easing up, he lapped at her, and then moved in to suck at her clit. As his lips pulled at the nub, he pulled a hand from her side and slid a finger into her depths, feeling her inner walls clench tightly around it. Waiting just a moment, he eased it almost all the way out, and then slid it back in, starting the slow rhythm in time with his lips on her clit.

“God Tommy please…” Kim cried, her voice strained and pitched higher than he’d remembered hearing it.

“As you wish,” he mouthed against her clit as he sped up his finger and stabbed at her clit with his tongue.

It took less than a minute before she let loose a scream as her walls rippled around his invading finger and her back arched from the table. Tommy grinned like a madman as he licked along her lower lips as she rode out her climax. When the quaking started to ease up, he removed his head from its place between her thighs and pulled his finger from her. As he stood up, he looked down at her face, her eyes slowly opening and regarding him with curiosity and lassitude.

“Mmmm… best breakfast ever,” he remarked before popping his finger into his mouth to lick off the last of her juices.

“You up for seconds?” she asked in a husky tone that had his hard-on harder.

“Hold on,” he smirked as he quickly dug through his pants for his wallet and the condom currently residing within. 

Tossing the leather billfold aside, he held the condom package in hand as he unzipped his pants and shoved them and his boxers down, freeing his straining organ. Quickly he ripped the plastic wrapper open and rolled the latex across his aching shaft.

Moving into the cradle of her open thighs, Tommy lined himself up, and then sunk in to the balls. They both moaned at the unification of their bodies, and their eyes drifted shut with the sensations.

“I love you,” he said as he got himself under control before he started the sweet onslaught.

“I love you,” she returned, grasping for his corded arms as they latched onto the side of the table to anchor his first stroke.

Like a piston, Tommy pulled back and then sunk into her again, the sensation more powerful than the last. After a second and third stroke and Kim’s low moaning, he couldn’t hold back. Taking a grip on her hips, he held Kim to the edge and pounded in and out of her, quickly building both of their orgasms until her cry and tightening inner muscles signaled her release. The ripples of her body threw Tommy over the edge, and with a shudder and a yell, he came furiously.

In the aftermath, he slumped slightly over Kim’s prone form, her hands coming to wrap around his back as she held him to her. Slowly their breath returned and Tommy raised his eyes to Kim’s, seeing the blissful expression within them and on her smiling lips.

“I… wow,” Kim commented, leaning up from her prone position as Tommy wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned up himself, giving her the opportunity to get up too.

“Wow is right. Damn… now I really need to clean up,” he remarked, easing out of her and stripping the condom off his deflating cock before tossing it in the nearby trash.

“Shower?” she asked, her eyes twinkling with suggested pleasures.

“If you join me, I’ll never leave,” he replied depressed, leaning down to kiss her.

“Go then. The sooner you leave, the sooner I can clean up.”

With that, he turned towards the clock and saw the time.

“Shit!” he nearly yelled as he saw how late it was.

Without pause, he hurried to the shower.

-

Kim had come to the school and they had eaten lunch in his classroom, avoiding the students and Principal Randall. Tommy really had no desire to have Kim size the woman up to see if she could kick her ass. The fact of the matter was he knew Kim could do it.

He had the memories of years as rangers to prove she could.

So he had contented himself with lunch of sandwiches from the local deli and a few stolen kisses on his lab bench. It was only superhuman strength and the fear of getting caught that had kept him from stripping them both bare and testing out the sturdiness of the table.

Plus there was the entire wall of windows… he had *no* desire of being captured on film by Cassidy and her camera.

So he’d let Kim leave, reluctantly, with the knowledge that he’d be home in a while and they could pick up where they’d left off before he’d gone to work. The subsequent classes had passed with painful slowness, and he found himself not really paying attention to his presentations. Finally he simply gave up and had the class read a section of their textbooks in class that they normally would have ended up reading as homework.

Great, he thought, they get a little less homework and I get to go home to Kim. We’re all winners today.

Finally the last bell rung, and he’d packed up his things, watching his students file out, happy, smiling faces that the day was over and their lives could start again until school the next day.

He knew exactly how they felt.

Tommy resolutely ignored the stack of project papers they’d all left on their way out, promising that he’d do them tomorrow morning after he came in early from dropping off Kim. He packed up his satchel and headed to the staff parking lot. Once he climbed in, he fired up the engine and headed hurriedly for home.

As soon as he pulled up to the house, he quickly killed the engine and headed inside. Throwing the door open, he found Kim talking on the phone, her attire from earlier – her clean blue jeans and a dark long sleeved shirt had been replaced with a pair of his boxers and her Olympic team t-shirt. He couldn’t help the surge of passion and closed and bolted the door behind him as he moved towards her.

“Yeah, I’ll tell him. He just walked in the door,” Kim said and gave Tommy a stunning smile.

“Who’s that?” he whispered as he threaded his hands around her waist and nuzzled her hair with his nose.

“Okay. Take care.”

With that, Kim hit the off button on the phone and turned in Tommy’s embrace. 

“That was Aisha. She tried calling my place, but kept getting the machine, so she called here.”

“Everything okay?”

“Yeah. She just was worried about me. She said to say hi.”

“So, what do we do with ourselves for the rest of the evening?” he asked with a leer, running his hands under the waistband of his boxers.

“Well, we could always go out…” Kim said, and then the look of contempt she saw in his face made her amend her statement, “or not.”

“I’ll call in Chinese. Almond chicken and steamed rice?”

She nodded and turned towards the couch marveling at how well this man knew her. Tommy walked to the kitchen to dig out the take out menu for the local Chinese restaurant and called them up, ordering enough for him and Kim tonight and leftovers for him for tomorrow. 

He returned to find her on the couch, surfing through the TV channels. She looked up to see him and scooted over, leaving him a place to sit at the end of the couch. Once he sat down, she handed him the remote and then slid into his side. As he wrapped his arm over her shoulder, pulling her closer to him, she laid her arm across his stomach, turning her face into his chest. Tommy settled on the early news and set the remote down so he could lay his other arm over hers, bringing them closer.

They curled up in each other’s embrace on the couch, waiting for dinner to come, content with this one moment to be together. Because before they knew it, it was going to be time to part again. 

But they still had tonight.


	17. The Flame

Kimberly Hart and Tommy Oliver did their level best to break the known decency laws with their goodbye at the Reefside airport as they groped and kissed, ignoring air and modestly as they tried desperately to make the moments last. The day and a half that they’d had had been too short. Still, it was more than either had expected, and they had resolved to make the most of the time they did have together, until Kim could come back to Reefside for good.

So now they stood, nearly six am, as Kim’s departing flight was getting ready to board any minute. She’d run this route before… and she knew that with the nearly empty airport she had a few more seconds to spare before she would have to get through security and to her flight.

It wasn’t enough though.

Overhead, they heard the announcement for Kim’s flight starting to board, and they stared at one another. The time was here. Kim pulled back, still holding her love’s hands.

“I gotta go, or the plane’s gonna leave without me,” she said seriously, once again hating leaving the man she loved.

“I know,” he replied, swallowing hard. 

“I’ll be back in a few months. For good this time.”

Tommy nodded, not trusting his voice for the moment as he nearly crushed Kim’s fingers with his hands. Another call over the overhead speakers brought him back to the reality that he had to let her go so she could come back to him.

“You’d better get going,” he said, tracing a finger along her cheek, trying to seal the memory of her eyes at this moment into his soul.

With another quick kiss, Kim and Tommy drifted apart. Luckily for both of them it was just a few more months…

“Love you,” she told him seriously, her eyes showing the tell-tale signs of unshed tears.

“Love you too Beautiful. Have a safe trip back and call me when you get in.”

She nodded and headed to the gate, leaving him aching and thinking about nothing less than going jewelry shopping so the next time she got off a plane he could make certain she wasn’t ever leaving again.

God, he though wearily as he watched her form move through the security gate and past his line of vision, the next few more months were going to be *long*.

\---

Within 2 hours of putting Kim on the plane, Tommy was going through Kimberly withdrawal. It had kicked in when he’d arrived at the school, where he’d used the extra two hours he had after dropping Kim off at Reefside airport to dig in and go through the papers that had been sitting on his desk since the white ranger had appeared. When the bell finally rang for his first class, he was seriously imbedded in his bad mood and he knew his students were not going to be happy about his state.

He knew he shouldn’t be feeling like this. While his visit with Kim had been too short, it had been wonderful. The fact that she had been there at all was more than enough to make it worth every moment they’d had. But putting her back on that damn plane, he mentally growled, was exponentially worse this time.

As the first class of students trooped in, sleepy, happy and otherwise teenager sounding, he sighed and pushed his glasses up his face. He had a job to do too, just like Kim. 

Even if all he wanted to do right now was have a monster or something show up and occupy his mind from thoughts of Kim and the last day and a half.

Two classes, two pop quizzes and several unhappy students later, Tommy was starting to burn off some of the bad mood he’d had. Another class later and he wasn’t obsessing over how little time he and Kim had spent together, but rather starting to fantasize about decorating the house once she moved in, and maybe bickering over china patterns for the wedding registry.

He’d made that decision almost the moment Kim had suggested it, and when they’d talked just days ago, he knew that getting married was in their future. The short term if he had any say about it.

All he wanted to do was assure himself that Kim was his forever.

A knock at the door brought his head flying up. It was lunchtime. Who…?

The door swung open slowly and Ethan’s head popped through the doorway.

“Hey Dr. O. Busy?”

“Come on in,” Tommy said, smiling a half smirk, half smile.

“It’s cool guys!” Ethan said, turning back behind him, and then pushing the door open fully as Kira and Conner followed him in.

No surprise there, Tommy thought. They were as inseparable as he and the team of the ‘old’ days were. There was something about the whole being rangers ‘gig’ that welded people together.

No, Tommy said mentally, chastising himself, no thoughts of being ‘welded’ to Kim…

“Hey guys, what’s up?” Tommy asked, taking off his glasses and placing them beside the neglected remains of his lunch and the quizzes he was grading.

“We didn’t get a chance to talk to you yesterday, what with Kim being here and all,” Conner started hesitantly.

“Come on Conner, just spit it out,” Kira said exasperatedly. “How did your visit with Kim go? Is she still here?” 

“I put her on the plane this morning.”

Tommy’s words seemed to bring the group up short. Kira stared at him with concern, and the guys glanced at one another in bewilderment. Their reaction to Kim leaving again wasn’t all that different from when the team had convinced Kim to leave for Florida all those years ago. It was as if she had been accepted as part of the group.

“But I thought she said she wasn’t leaving this time,” Conner said confused.

“She was planning on staying, but after we talked, I convinced her that she needed to go back to the girls, see them through the games.”

“So she’s coming back?” Ethan asked.

“Ethan!” Kira exclaimed, looking at the blue ranger with utter shock. “She came all the way out here when she thought something had happened to Dr. O. Why wouldn’t she come back after the Olympics?”

“I don’t know! Things happen. Maybe they’d changed their minds.”

At that, the three turned to Dr. O with a joint look of alarm and longing. In the short time that they’d known Kim, she had become a part of their ranger family. Losing her would be more than any of them could bear.

“We haven’t gotten through all the details yet, but she’s coming back on the first plane from Athens,” Tommy explained, and watched the three teens visibly relax.

“Good. She’s a really great person Dr. O. I think I speak for all of us when I say that she’s really helped us all. And she really seems to keep you grounded,” Conner expressed honestly.

It was with those words that Tommy found himself immobilized with a moment of clarity. Conner was right. Kim did keep him grounded. She balanced him through all the years they were rangers together. And even now, she was keeping him sane, keeping him going.

He looked to his students, his team and realized that her stabilizing influence on him was not only seen by them, Kim had affected their lives too. The fact that Kim had shared some of her darkest secrets about he experience with his evil self with Kira had gone a long way to helping the younger woman cope. And Conner and Ethan had both benefited from Kim’s generosity and caring.

Kimberly wasn’t simply taking care of me now, Tommy thought with a smile. She was taking care of all of them.

The bell rang, and Kira, Ethan and Conner nearly jumped at the sound.

“Time to go to class,” Tommy said, reaching for his glasses.

Hurriedly, the three turned for the door, and Tommy heard them as they walked away.

“So, what we were talking about before, you know, why the rock thing didn’t do anything to Dr. O… Wasn’t it supposed to bring out the inner part of him? Maybe the nice teacher guy?” Conner asked.

“Yeah, for a second there, I was worried he might be stuck in uniform, being the greatest ranger ever and all,” Ethan remarked.

Tommy got up from his seat and moved to the door to hear the rest of their conversation. He had talked with Kim briefly about the team’s transformation and Hayley’s theory on what had happened. She hadn’t really known what Hayley had done to the machine she’d harnessed the meteor’s power through to just release him, and he hadn’t talked to Hayley yet. But when Kira spoke up next, what she said surprised him, and he knew he didn’t have to ask Hayley anymore. What Kira suggested couldn’t be anything other than the truth.

“Please, don’t you get it?” Kira said with distain for her juvenile male rangers. “The part of him that the rock tapped into was his love for Kim, what makes him human. And that, under all the ranger trapping and stuff is more a part of him than anything else.”

And Tommy couldn’t help but agree silently.

-

The next few days had ended up going by in a blur. Trent had conned them all. And the team had nearly paid a horrible price for their willingness to believe in a miracle.

Kim had called on that first day, letting Tommy know she’d gotten in okay, and would head to work the next morning. But things were so out of hand that he’d had to fire off an e-mail to her rather than call her. He hated to do it, but he’d promised that he would keep her in the loop, so to speak, so she wouldn’t become worried like his previous bout of silence had done.

So he’d simply said that he was glad that she was back in one piece, that they had white ranger problems, and he’d call as soon as he could. And of course that he loved her.

He hadn’t realized when he hit the send button that it would be two days before he’d get the opportunity to pick up the phone.

Still, worrying about Trent and Mesogog had been a good diversion from allowing himself to deal with the fact that he was desperately missing Kim. Everything that had happened in the last two days was more than enough to keep his mind occupied on the problems at hand. The idea that Trent had gotten so possessed by the evil of his power gem that he was making deals with Mesogog concerned him more than he’d thought it could. He had never been like that, had he?

So the team continued to fight to get Trent back to the other side. But without being able to find a way to get through to the young ranger, they seemed to keep hitting road blocks. Ones that Mesogog didn’t seem to have with the white ranger. 

And yet, Tommy had to wonder why Trent didn’t just finish them off. Time and again, he’d had the opportunity, and then backed down. All he could assume was some part of Trent was keeping the white ranger from taking that final step, and he was glad of it. As long as they had some kind of chance at getting Trent back in one piece, there was still hope.

Hope. That was a powerful word. He’d remembered having that when he’d lost the green ranger powers. And it was something that the team and Kim had given him.

With a sigh, Tommy got in his jeep after leaving his last class. Just the thought of her name made him put aside all the concerns he had about Mesogog and Trent. With everything that they were still dealing with, he knew it was finally time to make time to talk to Kim.

He needed his Kim ‘fix’, he thought with a sudden internal laugh. God, he felt like an addict. But what an addiction…

Pulling up to his house, Tommy parked the jeep and reached behind his seat to get his briefcase. Getting out of the vehicle, he walked heavily up the path to his front door. With everything he’d been through in the last few weeks, and especially the last two, he was exhausted and emotionally drained. 

Pausing to pull his keys from his pocket, he found himself wishing that instead of simply hearing her voice that she could be there, so he could lay his head down on her lap and let her run her fingers through his hair like she used to do. It had been the most erotic yet soothing experience he’d ever had at 17 years old, and he didn’t doubt it would still have the same power.

They’d spent most of the last day and a half together making love and simply being together, but he hadn’t lain out across her lap. It just never seemed like the time to indulge in such a selfish pastime. He’d needed to commune with Kim like equals. They’d had so little time, he hadn’t wanted to use her lap as a pillow.

Her bare breasts were another matter.

But he had known it was more important for her to go back and finish what she’d started. If not for her, then for him and the girls she was coaching.

Still, he missed her desperately.

With a groan born of repressed desire and longing, he entered the house and tossed his briefcase on the couch picking up the phone on his way. Trudging into the kitchen, he took off his jacket and laid it over a chair as he moved to the refrigerator. Grabbing a beer, he settled in one of the chairs and dialed Kim’s number, thinking that one day, in just a few more months he wouldn’t have to do this. That *this* will be Kim’s home. With him. 

“Hello?” came Kim’s voice through the phone line

“Hey Beautiful.”

“Hey yourself handsome,” Kim said, and Tommy could swear he could hear the relief and happiness in her voice at his call.

“Sorry I haven’t called before now,” Tommy said, and then took a swallow of the beer.

“I’m sure things have been tough. Any good news?”

“Not really. We took another pounding when we thought that maybe luck had finally broken our way.”

Tommy took another sip of beer, pondering if he should tell her everything, and then berated himself for even thinking of not being honest with the one person who knew what he was struggling with more intimately than anyone else.

“Rangers having luck? What, have you been listening to Jason’s ‘luck is a ranger’s best friend’ speech again?” she said humorously.

“I know… the only luck I seem to have is bad luck.”

“No you don’t,” she scolded. “I would hope that you don’t consider me loving you bad luck.”

“Never,” he replied solemnly and took another swig from the bottle. “Just everything else. We thought we had him back Kim. I mean Trent. But it was just an act to try and destroy us. God, I just don’t know how much longer we can deal with both Mesogog and the white ranger. There’s only four of us…”

“You’ll deal. Just like we always did,” Kim said softly. “And you know that if I or any of the others could be there, in uniform with you to help, we would. But the only rangers around are yours.”

“And Trent.”

“Who will be on your side eventually. You have to believe that.”

Tommy took another long swallow, empting the MGD bottle as he spun it on its side on the kitchen table. Did he believe that they could get Trent on their side? Yes, but he wasn’t sure what price he, the team and the young man wielding the white ranger powers would have to sacrifice before that happened.

“I do Kim. It’s just hard.”

“Tell me about it,” she replied, and Tommy reminded himself that she’d now had two opportunities to watch an evil ranger tear up a city and a power team.

“Sorry Beautiful. I guess I let myself get too maudlin about all this.”

“No problem. Just remember I’m here for you and the rest of the team if you need to talk about it.”

He smiled as he remembered his hypothesis… Kim really was helping him hold it together, as well as be there for his team like she had in the past. 

“So, how are things there?” Tommy asks, hoping to break the melancholy that threatens to overtake them both. “Gregor was happy to have you back I assume?”

“Yeah,” she replied with a more uplifting tone of voice. “He checked in with me that everything was okay, and then I got back to work. But I guess my being gone didn’t hamper their training too much. They’ve got almost all the routines nailed. I think they’re pretty well prepared. They just need to keep up with practice.”

“It’s getting close,” he stated, knowing that Kim would understand his meaning.

“Yeah. Of course though all everyone was talking about is if we actually will get to Athens.”

“How’s that?” Tommy asked, hoping to hear some news about her being here sooner.

“First it was just crossing our fingers that the venues would be done by the time we landed...”

“What do you mean?”

“What? You didn’t hear about the construction problems? It’s been a mess! Gregor mentioned that he’s hoping that the facilities for the athletes are done by the time we arrive, or it’s not going to be fun. Still, that might be the least of our problems. There’s the whole U.S. athlete drug scandal that we, luckily, are staying totally clear of. But its things in the region that are the big concern. If things don’t get calmed down around before the games start…”

“I heard the IOC took out an insurance policy on the games…” 

Kim suddenly got quiet, and Tommy knew that she understood what he was thinking of. When he’d read in the paper about the bombing at the police station in Athens a month back, he’d put it off as a small thing. Then more bombs kept popping up. Rome, Istanbul, and then Athens again just yesterday… That last one had scared him the worst. Even if it had been small and not very sophisticated, the fact that it was half a mile from two of the athletic venues had been enough to frighten him. 

He hadn’t brought any of it up when she’d had been in town, not wanting to mar their time together with any more fears. But he had wondered if maybe he was sending her back to Boston to end up in the middle of a war zone when she got to Greece.

The fact was that the IOC was getting prepared for the worst just reinforced that fear. The insurance policy was in case of flood, earthquake and *terrorist* attack. And probably monster too, if they were smart he thought. But the whole terrorist thing worried him the most. They lived in a world much more complicated than it used to be when they both were together and rangers. They hadn’t had to worry about whole cities getting blown up by humans – just evil space aliens intent on ruling the planet. 

They’d had governments and police and the CIA to take care of the human threats.

But things hadn’t been so secure in the last few years. 9/11 taught everyone that. And even with all his power, there really was nothing he or the team could do to stop the violence men were doing to other men, and there’s nothing he could really do if someone decided to take hostages in Athens…

“Tommy,” she said in a quiet tone that broke him from his revere.

“What Beautiful?”

“I’ll keep my head down.”

“No you won’t,” Tommy said stubbornly, recognizing the subtle lie for what it was. “If something *did* happen, you’d try to help. How could you *not*. I just want to know you’ll be careful.”

She didn’t reply, but he knew the reason why. He was asking her to be careful when he never seemed to follow his own advice. Why should she have to keep away from helping people if she could when he was busy fighting monsters on a near-daily basis… He had no moral high ground to ask her to stay out of trouble, and they both knew it.

“Alright, I’ll be careful. Remember, I promised that I’d be on a plane and to Reefside just as soon as the games were over, and I will stick to that.”

“Good. I’m counting on picking you up at the airport in just three months.”

“I’ll be there, and then there’s no getting rid of me.”

Another silence settled over them as the longing and desire to be somewhere other than where they were started to settle over them. After years of separation, the small windows of time together we just not enough any longer.

“So…” Tommy started, breaking the silence, “what are you wearing?”

Kim laughed out loud at Tommy’s blatant attempt to turn their nice little call into a phone sex session. On his end, Tommy smirked and dropped his elbows to the table, leaning forward across the wood surface. All he could think about now when he sat at this table was how he had laid Kim out across it just days ago, doing wickedly erotic things to her. The sudden swelling of portions of his lower anatomy remembered well what he’d done, and was reminding him that he’d sent his lover off again, leaving him sexually frustrated for another three months.

Shit, this was not a good time for that kind of image, he berated himself, especially with her still on the other side of the country again.

“None of your business Dr. Oliver. Besides, my number doesn’t have a 900 prefix before it, so don’t expect any descriptions of what I’d like to do to you.’

“You’re evil.”

“I didn’t start this,” she fired back, and they both laughed.

“I miss you,” he said suddenly, the mirth gone and the seriousness of a man missing the love of his life replacing it.

“I miss you too,” she replies, and he felt his heart pound in his chest.

“You know, maybe I should ask for a few days off. I hear Boston is nice this time of year…”

“Tommy…”

“What? Can I help it if I love you and miss you and if I can’t have you back here for good that I’d rather be where you are, even if was just for a few days?”

Kim sighed, and Tommy felt a little pang of guilt.

“I’m sorry. I know you wanted to stay this last time.”

“I did… but you were right. I needed to come back.”

“So, can I ask Principal Randall for some time off?”

“Where do you plan to sleep?” Kim asked with an amused tome of voice. “Both of us won’t fit on my bed.”

“Shit, I’d forgotten about that. Could you buy a bigger bed?” Tommy asked with a leer in his voice.

“Why? You have a perfectly good bed in Reefside. Sweetheart,” she said in a velvet tone that burned through Tommy’s veins like flame, “it’s only three months. Then, you can ravish me every day for as long as you like.”

“I don’t know if medical science can extend my life that long Beautiful,” he replied, and he could imagine the smile on her face.

“I know what you mean.”

Sighing, Tommy pushed the chair back and headed for the refrigerator again. His stomach was getting annoyed at not being fed, and the beer was starting to go to his head. On her end, Kim heard the door of the fridge open and looked at her watch.

“Hey, I didn’t realize that you hadn’t eaten. It’s nine here, I probably should do the same and then hit the hay. We have another status meeting in the morning.”

“Alright Beautiful. I’ll call you soon, okay?”

“Good. I love you Tommy.”

“Love you too Kim.”

“’night.”

Tommy hung up a second after Kim had and reached in to find the leftover Chinese that he hadn’t gotten to since Kim left. Pulling it out, he scooped it into a few microwave save plates and started heating it up. Grabbing another beer, he walked to place the phone back in its cradle and then walked back the kitchen when he heard the microwave beep. With beer and food in hand, he sat back at the table and ate, wondering just how much more complicated things could get and much longer he could handle his life being on opposite ends of the country.

August was still a long way off.


	18. Absent Friends

Kimberly hung up her phone and sighed. She’d just gotten off from talking with Tommy about the mind controlling fossilized monster that he and Mercer had made. He hadn’t mentioned it before, and she realized that he felt guilty not for just making it but for not mentioning it to her sooner.

It amazed her still at how powerful the Oliver guilt complex was. Some days she wondered if even his being happy would allow him to 

Still, while Tommy had been feeling the guilt, someone else had more this time around.

Poor Kira, Kim thought with a pang of despair. The girl was not getting a break. First being made a ranger, then Trent, then this… It was enough to break a weaker ranger. 

But Kira wasn’t weak. She was probably the strongest of the team, even if Kim wasn’t about to tell Conner and Ethan that and injure their male pride. Still, Kira was a yellow ranger, and they made them tough. Aisha was one of the strongest women Kim knew. They had fought side by side for over a year and never once did Kim ever think that ‘Sha wouldn’t have been able to whip any of the male rangers in a fair fight.

And there was Trini…

No, being a yellow ranger was about being able to handle whatever came your way, to fight through the tough times and be everything a ranger could be.

Kim just hoped that she was right to think that Kira had that same intestinal fortitude that her predecessors had. Of course, there was a way she could make sure that the new yellow ranger was okay…

Turning around in her sparse apartment, Kim’s gaze fell on the computer. The fact that she knew Kira, Ethan and even Conner lived on these things was enough to surprise her. Still, it was a help to know that she didn’t have to melt her telephone bill to check in with the team.

Calling Tommy however was a matter of hearing his voice.

She still didn’t know how the hell she’d gone for over six years without hearing him say her name.

Firing up the PC, she wandered away as it started, grabbing a bottle of water. She knew that she most likely was going to be there for a while. Coming back, she saw her desktop active, and she quickly turned on her internet connection and then opened up her AOL IM service.

As she expected, she found one of the team in her buddy list online. And it was the one she wanted to talk to. With a mouse click, she opened an IM box and shot off a message.

On her end of the country, Kira had been doing her homework for Ms. Robinson’s geometry class, pouring over the graphs and equations when her computer announced an IM with its usually bright chime. Tossing the book aside, she bounded off her bed and slid into her desk chair. There on her screen was a message from Kim.

Frowning, Kira wondered what Kim knew. Just getting a message from Kim was great, but she had to wonder if Dr. O or one of the guys had told her what had happened, and now Kim was checking up on her. Not that she was angry… if anyone could understand, it was Kim. Hayley had tried, but she didn’t know what it was like to be a ranger. 

Kim did.

Kira closed the message and then clicked the chat icon, opening up a chat room for her and Kim to talk.

TERRA_GIRL: Hey Kim. What’s up?

PNK_CRANE: I just talked with Tommy. He said you had a tough time?!?

TERRA_GIRL: :-(

PNK_CRANE: What happened?

TERRA_GIRL: Dr. O’s old experiment zapped me.

PNK_CRANE: How’d that happen?

TERRA_GIRL: Mercer convinced Randall to let him take the science classes to *his* museum. 

TERRA_GIRL: That’s where the creepy skull thing was that took over my mind.

PNK_CRANE: And then you stole the last bone piece that Tommy had in the cave?

TERRA_GIRL: Yeah. That totally sucked. 

PNK_CRANE: But that wasn’t all… ?

TERRA_GIRL: I was rude.

PNK_CRANE: huh?

TERRA_GIRL: The whole ‘possession’ thing was really bad. It treated Conner and Ethan like shit.

PNK_CRANE: Did you talk about it now that you’re back to normal?

TERRA_GIRL: Sort of. They understood.

PNK_CRANE: Then what’;s the problem?

TERRA_GIRL: I just wonder if the thing would have hypnotized either of the guys as easily as it did me… :-(

PNK_CRANE: WHAT?!?!

TERRA_GIRL: Kim?

PNK_CRANE: Sorry, I just hate hearing… well seeing you type like that.

TERRA_GIRL: What do you mean?

PNK_CRANE: You’re a yellow ranger. 

TERRA_GIRL: Yeah, so?

PNK_CRANE: That means you come from a long line of tough, resilient women rangers.

PNK_CRANE: You are more than just the girl on the team. You’re the yellow ranger.

TERRA_GIRL: I never…

PNK_CRANE: What?

TERRA_GIRL: Thought about the other yellow rangers.

PNK_CRANE: Why not?

TERRA_GIRL: I don’t know. I mean, Conner met Jason a few months ago.

PNK_CRANE: I know I still am jealous he was out there first. :-(

TERRA_GIRL: But you’ve been here twice. And I guess I considered meeting you was meeting my ancestor.

PNK_CRANE: Hey, I’m not that old. Another word please!

TERRA_GIRL: Sorry.

PNK_CRANE: Anyway… I’m not.

TERRA_GIRL: But Dr. O made the yellow ranger the pterodactal ranger. Wasn’t that you?

PNK_CRANE: Sure, but you’re also yellow. And the terra grips… that’s old school yellow ranger all the way.

TERRA_GIRL: So, who should I be comparing myself to?!?

PNK_CRANE: No one Kira, that’s the point.

TERRA_GIRL: Seriously Kim… who’s been a yellow ranger.

PNK_CRANE: Well

TERRA_GIRL: What?

PNK_CRANE: There have been a lot of yellow rangers

TERRA_GIRL: You’re stalling.

TERRA_GIRL: Why?

PNK_CRANE: I just…

TERRA_GIRL: Kim, are you okay?

PNK_CRANE: It’s just hard.

TERRA_GIRL: ???

PNK_CRANE: I’ve ‘served’ with two yellow rangers Kira.

TERRA_GIRL: Okay…

PNK_CRANE: Aisha was the second. God, she was fierce.

PNK_CRANE: When we got the Ninjetti powers, her spirit animal was the bear.

TERRA_GIRL: WOW! That’s cool!

PNK_CRANE: She was tough.

TERRA_GIRL: Okay, so what about the first.

As soon as Kira typed the words, Kim sat there and stared at them. She knew that Kira would ask. And the truth was that she had a right to know the woman who had blazed the trail for every yellow ranger to follow in her wake. Kim just wished that that woman was around to impart her own wisdom, rather than have it come second-hand from her.

The sudden stop to their conversation brought Kira up short. Did she do something wrong?

TERRA_GIRL: Kim????/

PNK_CRANE: she died.

TERRA_GIRL: :-o

TERRA_GIRL: IN UNIFORM?!?

PNK_CRANE: NO!

PNK_CRANE: Sorry. No, she hadn’t been a ranger for a long time when she died.

TERRA_GIRL: But she was still the first.

PNK_CRANE: The first. The best.

TERRA_GIRL: What was her name?

PNK_CRANE: Trini

PNK_CRANE: I miss her

TERRA_GIRL: When?

PNK_CRANE: A few years ago. It was a car crash.

TERRA_GIRL: That had to be tough…

PNK_CRANE: It was. But she still lives on in the memories of the team.

TERRA_GIRL: I’m sorry

PNK_CRANE: Me too. You would have liked her. You remind me of her.

TERRA_GIRL: Really?

PNK_CRANE: Yeah.

Kira suddenly heard her chime sound, and looked to see the message notification letting her know Ethan and Conner had just logged in. She and Kim had been talking for a while, and she felt better, but she knew that they all could use a dose of Kim talk.

She quickly jumped back to her chat window with Kim to ask permission.

TERRA_GIRL: Hey Kim, Ethan and Conner just logged on. Should I invite them in?

PNK_CRANE: Sure.

Kira then fired off the chat invites to the guys and waited. It wasn’t long before the new sigs appeared in the chat room.

[RED_REX had just joined chat]

[TRI_BLUE has just joined chat]

RED_REX: SO IS THIS A PRIVATE CHAT OR CAN ANY RANGER JOIN?

TRI_BLUE: Conner, Caps Man!

RED_REX: Sorry. Forgot.

PNK_CRANE: Hey guys, what are you doing on?

TRI_BLUE: Just thought I’d catch the TERRA_GILR… 

RED_REX: Yeah, you were really not happy when you left earlier.

TERRA_GIRL: Well, Kim and I talked…

RED_REX: See, I *told* you Kim would fix this

PNK_CRANE: What, am I superglue or something? :-/

TERRA_GIRL: not exactly. Just we sort of have gotten used to having you to talk to.

TRI_BLUE: Yeah. Dr. O is all ranger too, and Hayley doesn’t always get it, you know?

PNK_CRANE: I do. I’m glad you guys aren’t feeling like I’m meddling.

TRI_BLUE: NO WAY!

RED_REX: besides, you’re the only person we can talk to that actually tells us what being a ranger was like.

PNK_CRANE: Tommy’s not doing that???

TERRA_GIRL: No, it’s just he’s all leader/inspiration guy. Not stries from the past guy.

TERRA_GIRL: stories

TRI_BLUE: You mean like the other yellow rangers?

TERRA_GIRL: How??

TRI_BLUE: Hey, you invited us into the chat. All the stuff here, just gotta scroll up.

TERRA_GIRL: oh

RED_REX: So, will we meet Aisha then someday?

PNK_CRANE: I would guess. Once I get settled in Reefside, I’m sure she’d come to visit.

TRI_BLUE: COOL!

RED_REX: I’m sorry about Trini

TRI_BLUE: me too

PNK_CRANE: Thanks guys.

Kim found herself wishing more than anything that they really could have met Trini. She was what a ranger was, just as much as Jason or Tommy ever had been. Still, the fact that Ethan, Conner and Kira all had extended their sympathies cushioned the blow of missing Trini.

Her attention drawn from the chat, she noticed the clock in the corner of her computer screen. It was after nine her time. Shouldn’t they be eating dinner with their families or doing homework… Hmmm…

PNK_CRANE: Hey, shouldn’t you all be doing homework or something?

There was a pause, and then suddenly, three messages popped up, one after another, and Kim couldn’t help but grin at the synchronicity of it.

RED_REX: KIM

TRI_BLUE: Kim!

TERRA_GIRL: Kim…. :-(

PNK_CRANE: What? You think Tommy’s gonna let you slide with school work now that he doesn’t have anything keeping him occupied?

RED_REX: Well…

TERRA_GIRL: I was working on Ms. Robinson’s geometry problems.

RED_REX: Ick!

TRI_BLUE: I finished those yesterday. I’m on to the book report for English class.

PNK_CRANE: Then you should all get to work before I get in trouble for contributing to the delinquency…

TERRA_GIRL: Alright. If for nothing else, if we don’t you won’t talk to us anymore.

RED_REX: you wouldn’t do that, would you Kim?

PNK_CRANE: if I had to…

RED_REX: I’m gone

[RED_REX has signed off]

TRI_BLUE: Me too. Latyer Kim.

[TRI_BLUE has signed off]

PNK_CRANE: You too Kira

TERRA_GIRL: okay. And thanks again.

PNK_CRANE: anytime. 

[TERRA_GIRL has signed off]

Once Kira had logged off the chat, it shut down and Kim disconnected from IM and then shut down her Internet connection and the computer.

Maybe she wasn’t a yellow ranger, Kim thought as she walked towards bed, but perhaps what she’d learned from the best one could be enough to help the new yellow ranger through. As she clamored out of her clothes and slipped into a pair of pajamas, she found herself smiling. Clicking off the light, she slid under the covers and drifted off to sleep with one last though…

Thanks Trini.


	19. Three of a Kind

It had been a hard week. With everything that the team had gone through with Mesogog, the white ranger still on the wrong team and the fact that he’d had to put Kim back on a plane to Boston, it would have been enough to break a lesser man. Of course, the additional weight of Anton convincing Principal Randall to let him take the students to ‘his’ museum where Kira had been hypnotized by ‘his’ creation made him wonder just what his former colleague was up to, or if it was just a coincidence.

Yeah, like there was such a thing as coincidence when you were a ranger.

Last but not least of the list was the fact that he was having to get ready to start giving his students their finals. The work that he’d had to cram into the last two days to get the exams ready to be reviewed by the school board had been exhausting. Still, none of it had been enough to discourage him from deciding he was up to going out again when he got home and found the message on his answering machine…

“Hey there leader man, it’s the Zack man. Me and Adam are on our way up to San Fran. So, we have to drive past Reefside, and Jase said we *had* to stop in and see you and the ‘kids’. How about boys’ night out? Black rangers and all? Call my cell.”

It hadn’t taken him more than a few minutes to look up Zack’s number and then call his cell phone. Once he got a hold of them, he found out they were about half an hour from Reefside. After offering up his bed and couch for the night, the former rangers agreed that they’d stop off at Tommy’s and clean up before they’d have some beers and something to eat. Tommy hung up in a good mood, but felt guilty about that.

If he went out with the guys, he’d have to call Kim now, or not call at all. And after the last disaster of his not calling, he didn’t want to worry her. Still, he hated the idea of a shorter call, but he didn’t have much choice. He knew what Zack, Adam and he could get like, and him getting home at an hour that would allow him to call her later wasn’t gonna happen.

With a pang of regret, Tommy dialed Kim’s number, listening to the phone ring once, then a second time before she picked up the line.

“Hello?”

“Hey Beautiful,” he said across the phone line with a mixture of affection and concern.

“You’re early,” Kim said with a questioning tone, noting the time and the fact that Tommy usually called later in the evening. “What’s up?”

“You’ll never guess who’s coming through town.”

“Okay, I’ll never guess. Who?”

“Adam and Zack.”

“Together?” she asked, surprised.

“They both have business in San Francisco, so they’re driving from L.A,” Tommy explained simply.

“So, what, are the guys stopping by so you can all catch up?”

“Hey, three black rangers in the same place? Gotta party.”

Kim laughed at her love. Give the boys some time together and they were 17 again. She wondered if she should warn Kira and the boys that their mentor was about to relive his youth and that they should avoid the testosterone cloud that most likely would appear over Reefside until Adam and Zack left town.

“Alright then,” she commented with a light sigh. “Send them my love and I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“What about me?”

“What about you what?” she asked, stifling a laugh.

“Are you sending *me* any of that love you’re sending them?” he teased.

“You’re being silly,” she chided. “I love you Tommy. Go have fun.”

“Love you too Beautiful.”

With that he hung up the phone and hurried to get ready for ‘company’.

-

About 45 minutes later there was a knock at the door, and Tommy rushed to open it, finding two of his closest friends standing at his doorway. Adam looked good, his Asian features now even more clearly defined by a close cut haircut, and his physique obviously improved in the eight years since he’d retired from ranger life. Zack seemed an older version of the hip-hop teen Tommy had met all those years ago. Gone was the buzz cut, replaced with a short set of dreadlocks. The African-American man seemed to have kept himself athletically fit, but standing next to Adam made him look less buff. Hell, Tommy was feeling a little inadequate next to his former black and green ranger, but he was still the only one of the three in uniform these days.

“Zack, Adam!” Tommy cried out enthusiastically, smiling a broad smile at two of his dearest friends.

Zack stepped over the threshold and wrapped his arms around his old friend in a bear hug.

“God, it is so *great* to see you guys,” Tommy said as he pulled back from the nearly bone-crunching hug Zack had given him.

“Hey! You trimmed down the spikes. Much better,” Zack commented, noting Tommy’s newer hairstyle, reaching up to mess with the short hair.

“It’s been this length since just after the last time you saw me. Is it my fault you don’t see your friends? Besides, it’s not like you have much to talk about, ‘Mr.-going-back-to-your-roots’,” Tommy remarked, pointing to his friends hairstyle.

“It’s edgy. Sue me.”

“Hey Tommy,” said Adam, moving into the doorway to give his former ‘boss’ a similar hug as Zack moved past them into the main area of the living room.

“Good to see you man,” remarked Tommy as he thumped Adam’s back.

“Nice place. Woody. Small. Wouldn’t have thought you’d be into someplace like this,” Adam commented, looking around the small house.

“It’s not the outside,” Tommy said, waving at the guys to follow him, “so much as the inside that’s important.”

Confused, the two men followed their former leader towards the back part of the house. When they got to the kitchen, Tommy leaned down and popped the hidden lock on the trap door and opened it slowly. He turned to note the mouths hanging slightly open and bulging eyes as they stared at the passageway.

“Do I want to know what’s down there?” Zack asked, smirking.

“Come on, stop being a wuss,” Tommy shot back, making Zack and Adam grin.

With that, the three rangers climbed down the stairs, and Tommy turned on the lights, showing the cavernous area of his ‘basement’. The main computer console stood at the back and center, with all the other pieces of equipment and artifacts all along the room.

“Welcome to the DinoRanger’s command center.”

“Shit!” Zack exclaimed, staring as he wandered about. Adam just whistled low and long. “Jason said you were back in the saddle, but I had no idea.”

“Well, I wasn’t originally. I was just looking for the dino gems, but then I ended up creating a ranger team…”

“You?!” Adam nearly squeaked out as his voice pitched higher than he would have liked.

For the original teams, they’d always had a mentor – an otherworldly presence that gave them the power. The thought that Tommy had accomplished something that Zordon or Dimetria had only done in the past was mind-blowing.

“I had help. A brilliant woman I met in college. She’s been a good friend and has really helped us build what we needed to keep the planet safe.”

“Wow… you guys made morphers and everything?” Adam asked, and Tommy lifted his arm, the long sleeve of his black t-shirt sliding down to show the silver cuff with the embedded black gem.

“You man have more ranger lives than a cat,” Zack commented sarcastically as he reached over to look over the metal cuff. “Nice. Still, I liked Billy’s communicators best.”

“Me too,” Tommy admitted.

Before he could continue the three turned their heads as the sound of grating rock and machinery began from deep back in the cave.

“Company?” Adam asked in a familiar tone that Tommy recognized as being one he used when they were expecting putties or cogs to drop on them at any moment.

“It’s probably the team.”

Both Adam and Zack relaxed visibly, and the three of them stood there as Kira, Conner and Ethan strode into the command center, stopping dead in their tracks when they saw that Dr. O wasn’t alone.

“Uh, Dr. O… are these ‘old’ friends?” Ethan questioned, his eyebrows rising as he posed the question.

Tommy knew what he was referring to. After Kim and Jason’s visits, the new rangers had actually gotten used to expecting anyone he was visiting with had been a ranger at one time. And of course, that really was the case 99 percent of the time.

“Very old. This is Adam and Zack,” Tommy introduced, waving toward each man in turn. “They’re actually my predecessors in a way. They were the first and second black rangers.”

Conner looked over the two men and nodded his obvious approval. Kira glanced from them to Dr. O and then back again. Ethan was smiling and moved forward to reach out and offered him his hand. Both looked at him surprised, but shook his hand.

“I’m Ethan, the new blue ranger. And I have to tell you, I’m so glad to see that the whole of the ranger community was a bit more ethnically diverse than the recent old rangers we’ve had come through town.”

Conner and Kira looked at Ethan like he’d grown a second head, shocked and appalled. Zack and Adam smothered laughter and Tommy simply sighed. He should have known that his cyber-geek wouldn’t tiptoe around a subject he wanted to address. And he was right… right now he was the only minority on the team. Of course, if they were able to finally bring Trent to their side…

“The kid’s got guts. Guess it comes with the suit,” Zack commented humorously. “So I can guess colors, but names would be nice.”

“Sorry,” Conner spoke up, moving forward and offering his hand to the two former black rangers, Kira following him. “I’m Conner, and this is Kira.”

“Nice to meet you,” Kira said, nudging Conner out of her way as she made sure she asserted her ‘I may be a girl, but I can kick your ass’ attitude

Zack threw a look to Tommy as the new rangers backed up slightly.

“Nothing like chips of the old blocks, huh?” Zack asked Adam, and he nodded in agreement.

“That’s what Kim says, at least,” Kira remarked suddenly, and all three of the older rangers turned their heads to stare at her.

“How’s that?” Adam asked quietly.

“We were discussing the previous yellow rangers. She mentioned that I reminded her of the original yellow ranger.”

Tommy and Zack looked at each other, and then turned to Adam. Tommy and Zack had served with Trini, while Adam had only known her briefly before he, Aisha and Rocky took over for Zack, Jason and her, and then afterwards during the time when the rangers had kept the friendships in place. Still, it was a surprise for all of them that Kimberly had brought up Trini with Kira.

“Yeah, she told us about Trini passing away,” Conner explained briefly.

“We were sorry that you guys had to lose someone who obviously meant a whole lot to you all,” Ethan remarked and the three older rangers observed his sincerity.

“Thanks guys. I think that if you said that to Kim that she really appreciated it,” Tommy replied, a half smile on his face.

The three teens gave him a look that said they knew what he meant, and again he wondered just how much Kim was helping him mentor these new rangers.

“So, dino rangers again?” Adam said, breaking the tension.

“Yeah, back to the beginning,” Tommy remarked.

“We even have an evil ranger we’re trying to save,” Conner blurted out, and Kira and Ethan both glared at him, the yellow ranger smacking him on the arm.

“Evil ranger?” Zack questioned, looking to Tommy with a mixture of concern and memory.

Dropping his head, Tommy ran a hand through his hair. Damn, he wished that they could find *some* way to break through the evil imprint on the white gem. He didn’t know what kind of damage this was going to do to Trent in the long run. It had taken the team weeks to break him free of Rita’s power back in the day, and it still haunted him. How much more could it affect Trent when he’d been fighting against the evil influence for over a month now?

“Tommy?” Adam questioned, moving to place a hand on his friend’s shoulder.

“Sorry guys,” Tommy said as he raised his head to glance at Adam and Zack. “One of the gems got found by the bad guy, and its turned one of the students at the high school, one of my students into an evil ranger. We’re still trying to find a way to break the power of the gem over him.”

“Wow… I don’t know what to say bro,” Zack commented, reaching out to Tommy, and the new black ranger caught his arm in a crushing handshake.

“History repeats itself… I just had hoped it wouldn’t ever happen again, you know?”

Zack and Adam nodded, and then turned to look at the new rangers who were now facing something that the original team had seen, and that Adam had watched his friend and former ranger leader deal with the repercussions for years. The two men could only hope that they survived better than their predecessors.

“You guys okay so far?” Zack asked the kids.

“Yeah. You know, at first we didn’t know how far back this ran and how deep the scars were for Dr. O and Kim and the original team. But as time’s gone on, Kim’s really helped us all get through it,” Kira explained, recalling her own special situation, and how only Kim could understand how she was feeling.

“Sounds like our Kimmie is still saving your butt ‘oh fearless leader’,” Zack smarted off, receiving a punch in the arm from Tommy and a glare from Adam.

“Uh, anyway, it looks like we came at a bad time,” Ethan spoke up, realizing that they’d been talking all this time, and Zack and Adam had to be visiting Dr. O for some other reason than trading battle stories with the new kids on the ranger block.

“It’s okay Ethan. What were you guys here for anyway?” Tommy asked, going instantly into teacher/mentor mode.

“We thought we’d check on the raptor cycles. Hayley said they were fixed, but…” Conner squeaked out, feeling the focus of their teacher now falling on them.

“Well, how about you guys come by tomorrow and we’ll look over everything. I’ll plan a training session this weekend and we can make sure they’re working alright.”

“Sounds good Dr. O,” Conner answered, and then turned to the former rangers. “And it was great meeting you guys.”

“Same here Conner. You guys keep up the good work, okay?” Zack replied, nodding to the younger man.

Another round of handshakes and smiles went around the room, and the new rangers finally exited the way they came in. As they left, Adam and Zack turned to their former leader, regarding him carefully. Tommy waited for one of them to break the silence and tell him what they thought. He didn’t have to wait long.

“Raptor cycles? Man, you have all the neat toys,” Zack joked, and Tommy couldn’t help but laugh.

Zack and Adam joined him.

“Okay, so you met the new team and saw the basement. Now, how about some dinner?”

-

Over dinner, the three talked about the more ‘safe’ topics that anyone could overhear - Adam and Zack’s career moves, and Tommy’s teaching. The ranger stuff would come later, when there wasn’t anyone else around.

“So what’s the job opportunity in San Francisco?”

“Adam’s got an interview with a prestigious Martial Arts academy looking for an instructor,” Zack blurted out, and got smacked by Adam.

“It is not.”

“Yes it is, and if you’d been the one to tell Tommy, you’d have downplayed the whole thing.”

“Guys…”

“Sorry. Anyway, I’m heading up for an audition with the national company of ‘Rent’. They had one of their leads leave, and rather than promote one of the really green understudies, they’ called a few agents looking for talent, and so I got the call to go and show ‘em my stuff.”

“That’s really cool,” Tommy said, truly impressed by his friends career moves.

“Well, I don’t know if I’ll get it, but at least they asked me to come interview,” Adam commented, munching on a bite of his chicken.

“Please, you’ve only gotten better since graduating high school,” Tommy complained. His friend was good at what he did, and he was just too self-conscious to acknowledge it.

“I guess…”

Zack sighed as he took a drink of the iced tea he’d ordered. Between Jason, Tommy and Adam, he didn’t know which one was the worst at playing down their accomplishments. Then, he had to amend that as he reminded himself that the man who was now the new black ranger had a PhD and had created a ranger team.

He figured Tommy won.

“Anyhow, so you’re teaching high school… how the hell did that happen?”

“I decided I needed to give something back for all of the damage I did during my PhD studies. Something good had to come out of it, or it would have been a total disaster.”

“That sounds logical,” Adam remarked.

“Still, it’s tough imaging you as the teacher.”

“If I put on my glasses and my sport jacket, would that help?” Tommy joked around a mouthful of steak.

The other two occupants at the table just laughed.

-

Once dinner was done, there was a debate about going somewhere and having a few drinks. But it was shot down quickly when the issue of talking about ‘business’ was brought back up again. So they ended up stopping off at the local 7-11 and picking up several six packs of beer and some snacks before heading back to Tommy’s place.

The three jumped out of Tommy’s jeep and headed inside his house. Zack dropped the beers and snacks on Tommy’s coffee table while Adam snagged a bag of the Doritos from the place Zack had set them and plopped down at one end of the sofa. Tommy went over and checked his message machine, then snagged a bottle of beer from the bag. Grabbing his computer desk chair, he turned it around and sat, popping the top off and gulping down a swallow. Zack came back from the bathroom and got a beer for himself and then handed one to Adam, who gratefully took his. Zack settled into the other end of the sofa and took a sip and then focused on the subject of the conversation.

“So, you and this Hayley chick built morphers and all this other technology?” Zack asked.

“Yeah. I got really luck that she’s been on board. Actually, Adam, you meat Hayley in L.A., remember?”

“Wait… the read-head right?” Adam remarked, his mind finally remembering the visit he and Jason had made to see Tommy years back.

“Yeah, that’s her. Anyway, she’s Billy smart. And after she figured out who we were…”

“Wait! She knows we were rangers?” Adam yelped, nearly spitting out a mouthful of beer.

“You didn’t tell her, did you?” Zack asked, shocked.

“She figured it out. I’m not sure how. But she came to me with too much information for me to be able to refute, so…” Tommy explained somewhat sheepishly, and took another gulp of his beer.

“Wow.”

“Anyway, its’ done, and if she hadn’t been there, I wouldn’t be here now.”

“Mentor and black ranger,” Adam stated, and Tommy nodded.

“And obviously you have some other help in the mentor department, if I get what the kids were talking about,” Zack noted.

“What do you mean?” Tommy questioned.

“Kim.”

Tommy found his face burn with sudden embarrassment. While he knew that he was grateful that Kim was not only with him, but helping with the team, the fact that Zack was asking about this seemed to signal that his love life was now up for discussion, and when Adam turned to stare at him, he knew what was coming.

“So, does that mean that you and Kim are back together again?” asked Adam as he took another swig of his beer.

“Yeah.”

“Jase said as much. I have to say though bro, it’s ’bout time,” argued Zack, finishing the last gulp of his bottle and reached across the coffee table for another.

“What does that mean?” Tommy asked indignant.

“I mean that you should have fixed things with the woman years ago. While I wasn’t there when the whole mess happened, what were you thinking not at least calling her?”

Tommy looked to Adam and saw his friend shrug.

“I always wondered about that too. And then you went skiing with Billy and Kat…”

Sighing, Tommy took another drink from his beer and looked to his friends.

“You guys are about eight years too late to be giving me pointers on fixing my relationship with Kim.”

“Obviously you finally got your act together because you’re together, and she’s been helping out and all, but damn man, it took you two long enough.”

“We talked after Trini’s funeral,” Tommy stated, and the two friends nodded, remembering seeing the two former lovers leave together, then hearing the news that Tommy and Kim had talked things out finally. “After that, we sort of got to be friends…”

“Tommy, you two were never just friends,” Zack said with a smirk.

“I know. Still, we did that for a year, while I was working on the PhD… then we just stopped pretending.”

“Good,” Adam stated firmly, and Tommy stared at his mild mannered friend.

“By the way, Jase wanted me to let you know that he’s getting that speech ready,” Zack said with a wink and a smirk.

“What speech?” asked Adam, confused as Tommy groaned and rolled his eyes.

“The whole best man one. Seems that Jase figures sooner than later he’ll be getting ‘the’ phone call.”

“She hasn’t even moved in yet.”

“She’s moving in?” Adam questioned.

That surprised Tommy. He was sure that Kim had to have told Aisha. The two were still best friends. And Aisha, Rock and Adam had always been the tightest of the teams. That he was asking…

“Didn’t you talk to Aisha?” Tommy asked.

“I’ve been busy. Rocky mentioned that ‘Sha had news, but he hadn’t gotten the specifics. Guess we’re out of the loop.”

“But Jase is sure that once Kim’s out here, all shacked up with our fearless leader that Tommy won’t wait long before finally making an honest woman of our little Kim,” Zack explained, nodding and winking at his friend.

“I haven’t decided when to ask her yet,” Tommy said with an embarrassed look.

“But you will ask her, right? Come on, you want to marry her, don’t you?” Zack asked, and Adam pricked up his ears, wanting to hear the answer to this too.

Of course, Tommy knew the answer to that. Hell, he’d know the answer when he’d seen her that first weekend in Reefside when he’d promised himself he’d never let her leave again. Even if he had to marry her to do it. Then they’d talked about Kim’s Freudian slip, bring to light the fact that both of them had been mulling over the idea of getting married in their heads.

“Yeah. I think I have since I was seventeen. But I think we both were concerned about trying to live together… you know, making it work 24/7 before we talked any more about it…”

“Please,” Zack stated confidently. “If anyone was meant to be together, it’s you guys. Hell, if Kim hadn’t gone to Florida, you’d probably be celebrating your fifth wedding anniversary already.” 

“I know,” Tommy mumbled, and then looked at his friends, deciding that if he might as well confide in someone. “On her last visit, I realized that I wanted to marry her. That's of course as soon as I can get the guts up to ask her.”

Zack sighed. For the man whom so many former rangers considered the ‘greatest’, he was continually intimidated by a slip of a woman. Not to say that Kim couldn’t kick Tommy’s ass if provoked, but just on general principle, it was pretty funny.

“You my friend have got to get over this issue. She’s gonna say yes, you just have to ask her,” Zack said, and the two looked at each other as the echo of times past settled over them.

“I will.”

Zack glanced at Adam and the Asian man winked at him as the trio continued to talk and drink before crashing for the night. 

Yeah, Zack thought, Jase better get cracking on that speech.


	20. How Blue is My Valley?

“So, could you do that for me?” Conner asked as he, Ethan and Kira headed off the school grounds.

“What? Use technology to improve your game?” Ethan inquired.

“Yeah.”

“Sure, but…”

“It’s not like you really need it,” Kira stated, glancing at Conner with a tight grin.

“Huh?”

“You’re really good Conner. You know it, you just get insecure about it. Just like I do with my singing.”

“Thanks,” Conner replied, realizing the complement for what it was.

“Now that we’re all done with the big bad bully guy, can we concentrate on Zeltrax showing up on the school grounds,” Ethan questioned, moving towards Conner’s car.

“You were here before anyone else was. Did Zeltrax say anything else besides that he was going to turn the Termitetron on the school?” asked Kira as she opened the car door and got in.

“He said he was going to unleash him on the city too… and there was this one thing, he said something about where Dr. O was most vulnerable…” Ethan remarked, getting into the front seat as Conner got into the driver’s side.

As Conner turned over the engine, the three suddenly realized what else that could mean.

“Shit!” Conner nearly yelled, and quickly turned the car onto the road to Dr. O’s.

Kira and Ethan were smart enough to just hold on as Conner wove his way across town. Even without running any stoplights or stop signs they made their way to 1992 Valencia Road. With a barely controlled skid, Conner parked next to the black jeep and cut the engine. The three rangers piled out of the car and hurried for the front door.

“Dr. O!” Conner yelled as he pounded on the front door of their team mate and mentor’s house.

The door swung open, revealing their teacher with a look of concern on his face.

“Conner, what’s wrong?” Tommy asked as he opened the door wide enough to admit the three youths.

“We were just talking about Zeltrax showing up earlier,” Conner continued, “and we rushed over to tell you what we think he might do…”

“Look guys, I know all about who Zeltrax is now,” Tommy explained, moving from them and turning towards the boxes of discarded materials and his hard box with his pictures and things he was saving.

“He said he was going to attack you where you’re most vulnerable,” Ethan stated quickly, moving to intercept his teacher. “He mentioned the school, the city…”

“And if Mesogog or Zeltrax know anything about your real life, they’ll know about Kim,” Kira warned, reaching into the box she’d been sorting pictures into and pulled out the group shot of the original ranger team and thrust it out at him.

“She wasn’t around when I was working with Mercer or Smitty… Mesagog and Zeltrax wouldn’t know to use her against me,” Tommy tried to rationalize.

“She’s been here since then. You both got attacked by Tyrano-drones when she came out that first time to visit,” Conner pointed out.

Kira, Conner and Ethan watched as the realization that Kim might be in danger washed over Dr. O. His jaw tightened, and they watched as his skin’s tone took on a nasty chalk like pallor.

“Oh God,” Tommy said quietly and moved to the phone, dialing her number and waiting anxiously as the phone rang on the other end.

“Hello?” said Kim’s voice through the line after three rings.

“Kim?” Tommy said with trepidation in his voice.

“Hey there handsome, what’s with the early call?”

“I need you to do something for me…” he said solemnly, his tone foreboding.

“Tommy, you’re scaring me here,” she said, 

Tommy looked to his students and fellow rangers and watched them stare at him as he fought to reign in his concern.

“Look Kim, some things have happened here…”

“What’s going on? Come on Tommy, talk to me here.”

“We found out who Zeltrax is,” he explained, moving to the couch and sitting down heavily as the others huddled around. “He’s a friend of mine from grad school that was working with Mercer and I on a dig together. He’d been in an accident… I thought he was dead.”

“I’m sorry,” Kim said softly.

“It’s okay. It threw me for a loop, but after Mercer showed up, it’s not that big of a surprise.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

Tommy glanced around at the worried faces of his students and realized there wasn’t any time to put this off.

“Zeltrax told Ethan something that has us all worried… that he’s focusing on where I’m vulnerable…” Tommy explained, and then trailed off, leaving the last part unsaid.

There was silence in the room with the rangers and in Kim’s apartment in Boston. Finally, Kim was the one to break it.

“You think that he’d come after me here, don’t you?”

“It had crossed all our minds.”

“The team too?” Kim asked, surprised.

“They care about you, and they know what it would do to me if something happened to you,” he replied seriously.

“Tommy, I appreciate the concern, but I think it’s really misplaced. First, Mesogog and his bad guys haven’t moved past the city limits, just like all the bad guys do – they’re focusing on beating the rangers first so they can dominate the planet easily. And second, they have no idea where I am.”

“But…”

“No, no buts,” Kim insisted, continuing quickly. “Besides that, I’m continually around one of the most highly visible events in the world. The security is pretty damn good, you know.”

“Okay, so you’re probably right. Still, I worry about you,” Tommy said in a tone that made the three eavesdroppers blush and find elsewhere to look. 

“If you didn’t, I’d wonder what happened to the man I love. You have always tried to protect me, but you forget sometimes that I can take care of myself if I need to. You don’t need to worry.”

“Fine, just promise me you’ll keep an eye out and be careful.”

“You know I will.”

“Look, I’d love to chat but the team’s here and we should discuss what we’re going to do next,” Tommy explained with a frown.

“I understand. Tell them to stay out of trouble and I’ll talk to you soon, alright?” Kim replied.

“I’ll call tomorrow.”

“Love you,” Kim said brightly.

“Me too Kim,” Tommy replied, and heard Kim’s laugh.

“You’re gonna have to get used to saying the words in front of them someday handsome.”

“I know… just not today, okay?”

Kim’s laugh crossed the phone line and made Tommy feel better just hearing it. No, she was right. He’d have to learn to tell her he loved her in front of everyone… especially if he was going to make a life with her.

“Bye,” she said, and then hung up the line.

Tommy turned off his phone and looked at his students. Kira was blushing, but had a knowing smile on her face. Ethan and Conner were studiously avoiding his gaze by studying the floor, ceiling and any other flat surface that didn’t look like their teacher.

“Alright, so Kim’s been warned,” Tommy said, taking control of the situation. “Still, I don’t trust Zeltrax. He may have been my friend, but after what Mesagog had to have done to him, he’s not himself any longer.”

“So, what can we do to make sure he doesn’t go after Kim anyway?” Kira asked, getting up from her seat and rubbing her arms with her hands.

“I’m calling Hayley,” Tommy stated, “I want to find a way to make sure that Zeltrax can’t follow up on his threat.”

Everyone nodded in agreement and as Tommy dialed Hayley’s number, the team headed for the trap door for the basement command center. 

-

The rangers had been discussing for half an hour once Hayley had shown up what they could do to protect Kim from Smitty/Zeltrax when an alarm pierced the air, sending several of the team into frantic motion, thinking they were under attack. What they didn’t realize was the sound wasn’t the alarm from the ranger’s console for attacking monsters, but rather an alarm that Tommy had installed in his house since Kim left, so he’d know if someone broke into the place. Since it was going off, something was obviously upstairs. 

“Could it be Zeltrax?” Kira asked, looking to Dr. O as Hayley shut down the alarm.

“I don’t know,” Tommy answered, and then stated for the stairs, “you guys stay here and I’ll check it out.”

“If it could be dangerous, shouldn’t we all go?” Conner queried, trying to be tough.

“And if it’s not a bad guy and someone from the school, I’m supposed to explain all of you being in my basement on a school night how?” Tommy asked.

“Study group?” Ethan suggested, and the others smothered laughs.

“Just stay put for right now, okay?”

Climbing the stairs, Tommy pushed open the trap door slightly, glancing into his living room. He saw a person standing near the front door, and his side table knocked over, the lamp usually on it smashed on the floor. Without that light, the room was darker than he would have liked. Still, he had to find out who was prowling around his home. While he doubted it was Zeltrax, his heart rate refused to listen to him, speeding up as his adrenaline pumped.

Climbing out of the trap door space, Tommy walked stealthily to the light switch in the living room and quickly turned it on, surprising the intruder. Only when the person turned, blinking at the sudden light did Tommy find his mouth dropping open in shock.

Not Zeltrax, but someone else from his past just as unexpected…

“Billy?” 

“Affirmative Tommy,” Billy replied, a sheepish grin appearing on his face. 

Tommy shook off the frozen stance he was in and ran to hug the former blue ranger. His brilliant friend’s timing couldn’t have been better.

“My apologies for arriving on your doorstep unannounced.”

“Don’t worry about it. What are you doing here?”

“We had an energy reading spike in the Aquitar relay sensor array. I thought that there was some kind of power flux, so I came down to check it out. Of course, the time it took me to get here was considerable, so it may have moved...”

Tommy studied his friend for a while. Gone were the blue jean overhauls and glasses that he seemed to always associate with Billy. The man that stood before him was dressed immaculately in what seemed to be a jumpsuit; most definitely not of human construction in a gun metal gray that shimmered. His trademark glasses were gone. Either he was still wearing the contacts he used to sport, or somehow his eyesight had been improved during his years off planet.

Finally putting aside his surprise at seeing his long missed friend, he focused on Billy’s reason for being there. He thought for a moment what kind of power could have registered that would have brought him here, and then made the connection.

“Power flux like a power coin?” Tommy asked, trying not to grin outright.

“Similar. The symphonic and resonating harmonics of the signature are such to denote great power to be harnessed.”

“Power like this,” Tommy suggested as he pulled back his sleeve to expose the silver cuff communicator and morpher combination, the black inset gem sparkling.

“Amazing,” Billy stated as he leaned forward and appraised the workmanship, twisting Tommy’s arm as he looked over the gem and the gauntlet. 

Tommy fought not to laugh at his technologically minded friend as he studied the wrist band, and was reminded again why Ethan reminded him in some ways of this former ranger.

“This is the power source?” Billy asked, tapping lightly on the black gemstone embedded in the metal and Tommy nodded.

“I hadn’t really thought that if we could find them as well as Mesogog that someone else might notice,” Tommy started, and then looked his friend in the eye. “I never realized that you’d been able to keep tabs on Earth.”

“Officially I’m Aquatair’s liaison with Earth, so I check out any potential threats Earth might pose them. Unofficially, ever since Zordon was destroyed by the space rangers, I’ve kept my sensors looking for energy signatures that might be rangers or the source of power for new rangers. Just in case.”

“Well, that’s what we are.”

“Rangers?”

“Yeah.”

“Who’s their mentor? Not Dimertia again…” he asked curiously.

Tommy dropped his gaze and his hand from his friend. He still hated this, no matter that the new team was now finally getting comfortable with their roles as heroes.

“I am.”

“You?”

“I made them Billy.”

“I’m at a loss to comprehend how you could create power rangers,” Billy stated, tilting his head to one side to stare at his friend and former commander.

“It’s a long story. Say, you want to see the place? God knows I used to think what you would have done in my place. You can meet the team…”

“I still have 1.3 solar days before I have to return. I wanted to make sure I set my return calculations with plenty of time to do whatever research might be needed. Of course, now that I know that the source of the energy is benign, I have multitudes of time to see what advances you have been able to make to ranger technology.”

Billyspeak… Tommy had missed that. With a grin, Tommy clasped Billy’s shoulder with an arm, leading him back towards the kitchen. Only once they stood before the trap door did Tommy let his much missed friend loose so he could open the door.

Climbing down first, Tommy was able to turn and take a good long look at his accomplishments – the fact that he’d had help not withstanding, it was still a surprise to him that he’d done any of it. Maybe his need to feel the power again had fueled it, maybe not, but now it was a moot issue.

Tommy moved aside as Billy came down the stairs and circled to see the expanse of technology and artifacts interspersed in the large cavern.

“Impressive,” Billy said quietly.

“Tom?” called out Hayley as she heard voices from the stairway.

Since Hayley didn’t turn from the computer, and the tone of her voice sounded worrisome, Tommy moved quickly forward, nearly forgetting Billy in his concern that Zeltrax had already made his move. When Tommy got to the console, Ethan, Kira, Conner, and Hayley all faced the view screen, where a large colored map of Reefside in relief was displayed, a bright white dot appearing over a set of coordinates.

“What’s up?” Tommy asked as he stopped behind the group, looking at the screen. He breathed a small sigh of relief knowing that it wasn’t an alert for Kim’s location in Boston.

“We had an alarm. Seems that there was an unidentified landing of something within the Reefside forest,” Hayley said, not turning around. 

“Could be a monster from Mesogog,” Ethan suggested just before he turned to see Dr. O’s reaction.

“Or Zeltrax is moving on the house,” Conner suggested, thinking perhaps that was what the cyborg had meant when he’d mentioned going after Dr. O where he was ‘most vulnerable’.

“That’s most likely my ship Tommy,” Billy stated after moving towards the group of people as he looked around the room in wonder. “This is impressive Tommy. I never would have thought…”

“Dr. O, who is that?” Conner blurted out as he, Ethan and Kira looked up from the screen to see the tall, sandy haired man moving towards them who had just spoken.

“The picture…” Kira commented, her features turning up as she recognized the older version of the man from Dr. O’s team photo.

Tommy glanced at his students and then moved to place a hand on Billy’s shoulder.

“Oh wow! It’s the first blue ranger!” shouted Ethan as he recognized Billy from the video and the photo Kira had handed Dr. O just an hour ago.

“What happened Dr. O, did you send out a flyer saying all old rangers should come through Reefside?” Conner asked curiously. First Adam and Zack, now Billy in less than two weeks?

“Doctor?” Billy asked, puzzled.

“Long story,” Tommy said quickly then focused on the introductions. “This is Billy Cranston, the first blue ranger, one of my best friends and probably the smartest person I’ve ever known.”

Hayley’s glare at Tommy made him amend his statement, “Uh, smartest *man* I’ve known.”

“Billy, this is Conner, Kira and the new blue ranger, Ethan,” Tommy stated as he introduced the rangers.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Conner said, shaking the former blue ranger’s hand.

“Same here,” remarked Kira, following suit.

“Wow, the *first* blue ranger… now I’m not the only one of the group who hasn’t met the first ranger who wore my color.”

“And was a triceratops ranger too,” Tommy added for effect, making the younger man’s grin even bigger.

“It’s good to meet all of you,” Billy stated, shaking Ethan’s hand last. “Blue ranger?”

“Yeah… I hear that the requirements are a big brain and stunning good looks,” Ethan joked.

“He’s our resident computer geek,” Tommy explained to Billy, and he and Ethan both turned to look at the black ranger.

“I guess that the word geek probably isn’t the best choice, huh?” Tommy stated, backpedaling.

“Considering Derrik at school thought that was all there was to Ethan, I’d have thought you wouldn’t do the same thing Dr. O,” Conner remarked.

“You mean the moron that was itching for a fight? You didn’t?”

“No,” Ethan remarked quickly, and then glanced at the former blue ranger. “I just used my mind and made him and offer he couldn’t refuse rather than him wasting time trying to pound on me.”

“A wise course of action,” Billy remarked with a half grin, shooting a look at Tommy.

“Alright, you brainy guys have it all over the jocks. I get it. I’m not seventeen anymore.”

“No, you obviously aren’t,” Billy stated, taking into account the marvels that surrounded him, his eyes drawn back to the technology amassed in the underground chamber.

A loud clearing of someone’s throat brought everyone’s attention to the forgotten person in the room, and Tommy found himself wincing at the glare he was getting from the woman mostly responsible for all the technology that Billy was being so impressed with.

“Sorry, one last introduction. This is Hayley,” Tommy finally stated, introducing the two brilliant minds who were partially responsible for his survival – past and present as a ranger.

“Nice place,” Billy stated as he shook the red-headed woman’s hand, feeling an instant spark at her touch.

“Glad you like my work,” Hayley said as she took his hand and stared into the ice blue eyes looking at her as if they’d never seen something so fascinating in all their life.

“Considering the fact you have never been a ranger, this is quite impressive,” Billy replied, smiling.

“I get by. Besides, Tom has been helpful in giving me whatever pointers he can from the old days. Probably stuff he learned from you,” she demurred, averting her gaze.

Billy’s eyebrows raised, and he turned to look at the man in question. Had Tommy actually learned something from him? The former ranger leader shrugged his shoulders.

“So, what else have I missed besides you building an entire new group of rangers?” Billy asked generally.

“He and Kim are back together,” Kira offered cheerfully, gaining a series of groans from her male team mates as she dished the gossip. “And when you arrived we were discussing ways of trying to make sure that Zeltrax doesn’t try and jump her.”

“Kimberly? Zeltrax?” Billy asked stunned. The last thing he’d known, Kat and Tommy had been moving towards dating. And now Kim was back in the picture? And who was this Zeltrax, and why was he after Kim? God, he *had* been out of the loop for *too* long.

Tommy sort of blushed, and everyone stood watching. Still, his concern over making sure Kim was protected was enough to override his embarrassment.

“I’ll explain everything to you, I promise. Right now, how about I catch you up on current events as I show you around the place,” Tommy suggested, looking at the team. “As for you three, you have homework and finals… so head home. I’ll see you in school in the morning.”

The three rangers looked dejected at the idea. Still, what Dr. O had said was true… they did have work to do. Seeing the internal struggle, it was Billy that put them on the path back to their homework.

“You can’t be a ranger without learning. And that doesn’t mean just how to work your zord or use your powers. You need to be smart to survive.”

“So says the former blue ninja ranger – cunning and swift,” Tommy joked, and the two smiled in remembrance of their animal spirits.

“Alright, we’ll go,” Conner said, giving a look to Kira and Ethan.

“It was nice meeting you,” stated Kira as she headed for the stairs, Conner following her.

“You’ll be back, right?” Ethan asked hopefully.

“I think I’ll be checking in with the new ranger team in the future, yes.”

Ethan grinned, and flashed Dr. O a thumbs up as he raced to catch up with Conner and Kira to catch a ride home. Once the teens were gone, Tommy turned to his friend again.

“How about that tour now?”

Tommy steered Billy around the basement, showing him the raptor cycles Hayley had designed and the system of tunnels and computer equipment. Billy asked questions, but for the most part, Tommy always deferred to him asking Hayley. When they’d made the entire lap around, they sat down and Billy shot his friend with a stare.

“So, are you going to provide me with the information that your team wanted me to know?” Billy asked, still shocked by what he’d seen so far, and expecting nothing short of more with Tommy’s explanations of what had been happening recently.

“Billy…” Tommy began, feeling a bit uncomfortable trying to fill in his friend on everything that had been happening.

“You and Kim?”

“Yeah. It took us a while, but we finally got things settled between us after…”

“After what?” Billy asked curiously.

“Billy, you know about Trini, don’t you?”

Billy’s face clouded over, and he nodded simply.

“I’m sorry.”

“We were friends, nothing more…”

“Still…”

“I heard about it a few months afterwards, and I made my peace with it.”

Tommy nodded, understanding that no matter how much time had past, Trini was a difficult subject for all the former rangers that had served with her.

“So you and Kim are together?”

“We’ve been doing the long distance thing, but Kim plans to move in with me in the fall. We’re taking about getting married…”

“I’m… wow,” Billy responded, truly surprised, “that’s awesome Tommy. I’m so happy for you both. I knew you really never wanted Kim out of your life, even right after the letter.”

“I know. You and Kat tried. But it just wasn’t what was supposed to happen.”

“And you did all this as well. I’m stunned.”

“Well, I do have a PhD now,” Tommy smirked, and watched his friend’s eyebrows rise for third time that evening.

“Ah yes, Dr. Oliver,” Billy started, still looking somewhat doubtful. His friend was a great leader, but his mind sometimes seemed like a European dairy product… Swiss cheese.

“Don’t panic. I had a lot of help. Hayley did almost all of it. She’s in your class man. She double majored in grad school and ended up with a PhD at UCLA while she attended long distance classes in MIT. Next to you, she’s the brainiest person I know. If she hadn’t been here, I wouldn’t have been able to do any of this.”

Billy nodded and a slight grin crossed his face that Tommy looked at questioningly before Billy focused on the situation at hand again.

“So, what’s with this guy Mesogog and Zeltrax?” Billy questioned, still feeling confused.

“They’re the bad guys. Mesogog wants the dino gems…”

“What evil overlord doesn’t?” Billy joked, and Tommy fought to smile.

“And he’s used some of the technology I was building during my PhD studies to create monsters. He’s set on making the Earth a paradise for dinosaurs again.”

“Ah… I see. Do you ever miss the days of Lord Zedd?”

Tommy did smile at that.

“Every day.”

“And this Zeltrax, the rangers mentioned he might be after Kimberly?”

“He’s another story. Short version is that he and I ended up on opposite sides, and now he’s threatened to hit me where I’m vulnerable,” Tommy said sullenly.

“Kim,” Billy stated, knowing that his friend’s greatest strength and greatest weakness had always been the former pink ranger.

“Yeah. We thought that we could give her a personal shield, or an alarm or something to make sure he doesn’t come after her without us knowing about it or at least being able to protect her.”

“She knows about this then?”

“I called her earlier. She, of course, said that I was worrying too much and that she could take care of herself,” Tommy replied.

“She can you know. Even without the power she is a formidable opponent,” Billy remarked seriously.

“I know, but I worry, you know?”

Billy smiled at his friend. Yes, he knew that Tommy worried about Kim. He’d *always* worried about her. It was part of him, and the love that he felt towards her. And Billy knew that no matter what, Tommy would do anything in his power to make sure Kim was safe. 

Still, that seemed to be only part of what he and the new ranger team were up against.

“Are you guys going to be okay?”

“We will. You know how it goes Billy… rangers get through anything the bad guy throws at them,” Tommy replied, leaning over to place his hand on his friend’s shoulder. “Come on. Let’s see if Hayley came up with any ideas.

Getting up, Tommy led Billy back to the main chamber where he found Hayley diligently working on the problem of keeping tabs on Zeltrax and keeping Kim out of the fire. As they came in, she turned in her chair.

“I don’t know what will work Tom. There’s a lot to consider,” she stated, looking at the black ranger and the former blue ranger.

“Maybe I can help?” offered Billy as he looked to Tommy for any concern, and finding none took the seat next to Hayley.

“Sure,” she replied, giving him a long appraising once over.

“I think that your best bet is to monitor the general vicinity of Kim’s location. If anything that is a monster comes into that area, your sensors will alert you to it.”

“So, I need to modify the sensor array for the Boston area? But how can I pinpoint Kimberly’s location within that area?”

“You could use her bio-signature.”

“I… I don’t know what that is.”

“I can help. It shouldn’t have changed much,” Billy replied. “May I?”

Hayley waved to the keyboard, and Billy went to work. Behind them, Tommy stayed out of it. He might have his PhD, but the real geniuses were way out of his league. As Billy worked his magic, Tommy stared at one of his oldest friends and his college friend. They looked good together. 

“Tommy, I think Billy and I’ve got it,” Hayley announced, and turned to where Tommy still stood behind them.

“Good…” he replied, his body language showing some of the concern he had about Kim’s well being evaporating at the announcement.

“I think we can take it from here,” Billy stated, looking from his seat to Tommy and then settled his gaze on Hayley. 

Tommy was slightly taken aback, but realized it made a lot of sense… It was funny, for as long as he’d known Hayley, he’d had the feeling that he just needed to hook her up with one of his friends. Maybe he just hadn’t introduced her to the right one.

“I have some papers to grade… How about you make sure you check in with me before you leave,” Tommy said to Billy, and then looked at Hayley with a hint of a grin. With that, he turned and headed to the stairs, leaving the two alone.

“So…” Hayley started, staring at the handsome and very smart former blue ranger. It wasn’t often she was impressed, but damn he was brilliant. “You’re heading back off planet soon, to wherever it is that you live now?”

“Affirmative, I mean yes. I have a while before I go though. Maybe we could get a cup of coffee? I miss coffee.”

Billy smiled at her, and Hayley found herself thinking that maybe she’d finally found a ranger that was worth her time and wasn’t preoccupied with his ex.

“You know, I just happen to own a café,” she remarked with a grin, and watched as Billy’s smile turned up even higher. “How about we have that coffee now?”

“Well that sounds perfect.”

With that, Billy got up and offered Hayley a hand. Taking it, she let him guide her to her feet, and she escorted him towards the back entrance, their conversation taking a technical turn as they followed the path past the raptorcycles.

“So, did you make the morphers using super conductive polymers to allow the gems to bond with the metal?” Billy asked as they walked.

“It was the only way I could figure out how to do it without incorporating technology that I didn’t have full access to,” she replied, smiling at the former blue ranger.

Yes, Hayley thought as they left the command center, maybe with some help from Billy, she’d be able to do some of the things wanted to do with the technology she had, and maybe she’d finally found a ranger that she could relate to.


	21. Reality TV

“Come on Dr. O… you gotta see this,” Ethan said, grabbing my hand and pulling me along the corridors of the mostly empty school.

“Why do I need to see this again?” I asked, sighing as I plant my feet and break Ethan’s grip on me. 

“Because it’s cool and funny and you’ll get a kick out of it,” Kira says, coming behind me and pushing me forward.

“Yeah, with everything going on with you-know-who and the end of school, you need a break,” offered Conner, and I groaned.

“Fine, fine, I’ll come. I have to tell Hayley this is a bad use of her money anyway.”

Resigned, I stop fighting and follow Ethan, Kira and Conner. After negotiating the now empty hallways, we make our way to the parking lot. The teacher’s cars are at one end, the empty student’s lot is at the other. I start towards my car when I hear Ethan’s voice again.

“No skipping out!”

I nod my head and move to the jeep. I climb into the driver’s seat as the rest of the team gets in Conner’s mustang and we pull out of the school parking lot. For a second there I consider not following, but know I will never hear the end of it if I don’t show. It’s only a few minutes from the school to Hayley’s Cyberspace, and we’re parking in the lot there before I know it. Again, I’m surrounded by my students and they usher me into the café.

“Hey Tom,” calls Hayley from the counter as she sees us come in.

“Hayley,” I reply, moving from the kids and over to a clear spot at the counter.

“They told you about the TV show, didn’t they?” she says with a grin, and I shake my head.

“More like they couldn’t stop talking about it. You’d think that they didn’t know they were famous or anything.”

“Give them a break. It’s not everyday that you’re a TV star.”

“More like the rangers are,” I say in a low voice, reminding her that anyone could overhear.

“Yeah, yeah… you’ve been the subject of hero worship before, what with the whole first team and all. But for them this is big. They’re famous, important…” she replies, and I shrug.

“And still teenagers with too much time to watch television on their hands.”

“Like you weren’t anything like them in your day…”

I start to fire off a snappy comeback, but know that whatever I say will probably be a lie. Instead I shake my head from side to side and order a round of drinks for the team. It’s the least I can do, considering they’ve had a tough few weeks, what with Trent and Zeltrax and…

Shit, what am I thinking. *I’ve* had a tough few weeks.

Hayley hands me a tray with the drinks, and I negotiate to the sofa where Kira, Conner and Ethan had already staked out the television. Carefully I set the tray down, and three smiling faces look up to me, then hands fly for the drinks.

“Refreshments! Thanks Dr. O!” Conner says happily, and then focuses back on the TV.

“Cool, but you gotta sit down now! The next episode is starting!” Ethan says, scooting over more so the space between him and Conner is wide enough for me to sit.

Sighing again, I turn and plop down between them, reaching forward for my own café latte and focus on the screen.

“What episode is this?” Kira asks Ethan.

“I don’t know. It’s weird enough that they’ve shown like ten episodes since yesterday.”

“Shush, it’s starting,” Conner whispers, and the four of us get quiet as the show begins.

“Ooh, it’s a new one!” Kira tries to whisper before taking a sip of her smoothie.

As I stare at the screen with the episode plays, I have to wonder at just how ironic this is… that there’s a TV show about rangers. There haven’t been a lot of things that have surprised me over the years, but this one is one of them. Here I am, watching actors portraying our team, wearing our suits and… oh shit, using our morphing call.

Where the hell did they get that?

I have to hope that they just made it up and that it’s just a coincidence, but…

The rangers on the TV screen go into battle with a monster, created by this scary child evil thing and her henchmen. I have to admit that I’m glad that they don’t know anything about Mesogog. That alone means that whoever did their research didn’t get too far into the reality of the rangers.

Still, it’s surreal. Like reality TV without some of the reality.

Yet watching the black ranger show up to save the day, I have to question just how much of this really isn’t too close to reality. I mean, I’ve seen my uniform in action before – the green ranger duplicate that we left in the past, and T.J. in the Turbo armor are prime examples. But to see my armor on an actor in a television series is just strange. 

I never thought that I’d be part of an international phenomenon.

Sighing, I can’t help but run a hand through my hair. This isn’t what being a ranger is about. This whole commercial thing. It’s supposed to be about more than just this. About being better than egomaniacs; being selfless in our protecting others, saving the world. Instead, it’s become about if we’re famous enough to be on “60 Minutes”.

Beside me, Kira, Ethan and Conner are laughing and joking as the episode wraps up, and I realize that maybe the problem is just that they forgot for a moment what we do this for…

“What did you think?” Ethan asks, clicking off the television set.

“Okay, that was just…”

“Awesome?” Conner offers, and I glance at him with a tough glare.

“Oh come on Dr. O… you’ve got to admit that it was cool!” Ethan remarked.

“Yeah, we’re like international stars, except for its other people but…” Kira tossed in, and I took in a deep breath before I opened my mouth.

“You always have been stars,” I say simply and look at each of them in turn. “Just because there’s a TV show based on us doesn’t mean anything. What’s most important is how you’re perceived everyday. *That’s* how you know you’re famous. Conner, the time you saved that little girl when you were thinking about leaving the team, was that better than seeing someone wearing your armor on a television show?”

There’s silence, and I think that what I’m saying might have hit home. But I can’t stop there, I need it to sink in and stick.

“And Ethan, it’s not like you haven’t seen the pictures the elementary school kids sent to the local TV station for their art contest showing the brave blue ranger. Kira, you most of all know that the buzz you get performing for people on stage isn’t ten times as great as the feeling you get from rescuing someone who needs your help,” I state, knowing she’ll think of how she’s tried to help Trent.

“You’re heroes, no matter if there’s a TV show, or magazine covers or movies made about you. Because what you do inspires others. Makes them believe that they can be better, want to be better. And that’s the *real* cool thing about being a ranger.”

That said, I set my coffee cup back down, stand up and start for the door. Ethan, Conner and Kira are up in a flash and catch up with me, the three of them speaking at once.

“Dr. O, hey, we didn’t think…”

“We just thought…”

“You’re right…”

It’s Conner that wins out, giving the other two a look that holds them back. He stands a little straighter, and I can almost look him in the eye. In that moment, I see a parade of red rangers in him that makes me proud to have him on my team, and that he’s part of the legacy of rangers.

“We got wrapped up in the hype of it all. I mean, even I was all seeing this as a culture thing, but it isn’t even that. It’s about what gives people hope that things can be better, isn’t it? That because we’re here, making the world a safer place, people need heroes… ”

I nod, and then clasp my hand on his shoulder. I guess maybe they are starting to get this.

“It’s all about that,” I explain, and smile at the kids as I see the understanding finally hit them down deep. “I’ll see you all later.”

With that, I head back to my jeep and head for home. It’s been a few days since Kim and I talked by phone, instead trading e-mails, and I really want to hear her voice today. I park the car and jump out of the jeep, reaching back to get my briefcase. Walking into the house, I toss my jacket and briefcase on the couch as I move into the kitchen to grab a glass of water.

After a few gulps, I set the glass aside and head for the phone. The number is indelibly ingrained in my memory – one thing that I’m not forgetting anytime soon. Just like the sound of Kim’s voice, or the smell of her skin… Okay, not the time for reminiscing. I need to call her. 

I dial the number and hear the phone ring as I wander around the living room. Just before I get ready to hang up, I hear the phone pick up.

“Hello?”

“Hey Kim,” I say across the phone line as I run my free hand through my hair.

“Tommy... I can’t tell you how glad I am to hear your voice. I miss you. How was your day?”

“I miss you too Beautiful.”

“So, what’s news?”

“Well,” I began, and then paused.

“Tommy?” Kim asks, her voice a little concerned at my hesitation.

“Sorry. No, I was just thinking. The kids had me watch this show on Japanese television, and I was wondering if I should even mention it.”

“What show?”

“It’s a Japanese television series based on the dino thunder ranger team.”

“Excuse me, I think my hearing is failing. It sounded like you said there was a TV show about your ranger team.”

“That’s what I said.”

“Okay, how is that possible? I mean, did you just wake up one day and decide to tell everyone you were power rangers?”

“No,” I said with a sigh. “They’re not really us. I can’t really explain it…”

“Try.”

“Okay, they’re using our uniforms and powers…” I started, and Kim cut me off.

“Is Hayley asking for royalties?” Kim asked jokingly.

“Very funny. So besides the uniforms and zords and such, none of the rest is real. The actors are all Japanese and the show only airs on Japanese television.”

“So, how the hell did you find out about this?”

“Hayley bought a satellite dish, and Ethan found it on the programming…” I explained, hearing Kim laugh on the other end.

“Why am I not surprised. So the kids got you to sit and watch it?”

“Under duress. Still, it allowed me to emphasize the reality of being a ranger.”

There’s a pause, and I realize that Kim’s waiting for me to explain what I mean by that statement.

“Just that being a TV show or having their picture on the cover of magazines, or even having a huge thank you celebration in the middle of town declaring it ‘Power Ranger Day’ isn’t the gauge of being a ranger,” I say, knowing Kim will remember that day in Angel Grove. 

“I remember… You weren’t a ranger then.”

“And while I wasn’t in uniform, I felt the same as you guys did… But we weren’t rangers for the gratitude of others. We did it to help people, not for the glory. Because down deep we were heroes, with or without the uniform or the powers.”

“And the kids got this?” Kim asked, and I could hear the smile in her voice, reminding me that I still remembered in the core of my being why I was a ranger.

“Yeah, I think they did.”

“Good. I would have thought that they’d have figured it out with all the old team coming through town and espousing the ranger way anyhow,” Kim joked, and I remembered I hadn’t spoken to her since Billy had shown up, and had forgot to mention his visit to her in my e-mails.

“By the way, Billy was here…”

“Really?” Kim asked excitedly. 

“Yeah. He got an energy reading on the dino gems and came from Aquitar to make sure they weren’t anything evil.”

“Which, since they’re in your hands…”

“Except for the white one…”

“I know love, but the others are in good hands,” she reminds me, and I let myself push down the guilt about Trent once more. “Is he staying?”

“No, but he promised to be back soon. I mentioned you moving out to Reefside, and he thought he’d come back and see both of us…” I don’t mention my telling him about getting married. I figure Kim will figure it out after the fact. Still… “But I think he has other interests in town that will bring him back.”

“Like what?” Kim asked with curiosity in her voice.

“I think he and Hayley hit it off.”

A long moment passed as Kim and I wondered what she was thinking. If maybe Hayley wouldn’t be in the picture if Trini was still alive…

“That sounds like a good match. Between the two of them, they could probably cure cancer or something.”

“Anyway, he had to head back, but he sent his love and I gave him a glare, so he knows that it better be friend love.”

“Tommy, please! You’d think every guy who ever had a crush on me was your sworn enemy.”

“And you think they shouldn’t be? Billy gets a pass since he’s our team mate, but don’t think that if I ever run across any of your previous crushes that I won’t set them straight. You’re my girl… always have been.”

Kim laughs and I have to join her. The thought of my lining up every boy who ever found Kim attractive since she was born would probably be a mile long. And in the end, no matter where our lives took us, Kim found her way to me, the first and second time.

“You know that I am,” Kim reassured him again. “I love you. And I’ll be there soon enough so you can be a perfect cave man and follow me around to make sure none of my former boyfriends take one step towards me.”

“Good, I will.”

“Tommy,” she says with an admonishing tone, and I feel a bit guilty at my possessive nature. Besides, Kim has never gotten on me about Kat…

“Fine,” I say with a grin. “I’ll cut them some slack because I love you. And by the way, I saw the gymnastic Olympic trials on ESPN the other day. They caught a nice close up of you.”

“Please, I probably looked like warmed over crap. That was a really long day.”

“You could never look anything but beautiful to me,” I state, and can almost feel her start to argue, so I change the subject. “So, you’ve got the team narrowed down now?”

“Yeah. The games are coming up fast now. I’ve got to start boxing stuff up soon. What about you? Isn’t school out yet?” Kim asks.

“Next week. I got the grades done and everybody passed, with a couple of exceptions. Devin just barely passed, thanks to some extra credit.”

“Any plans for the summer?”

“I was thinking of selling everything I own and renting an apartment in Athens for a few weeks,” I suggest with a leer in my voice.

“Tommy…”

“I know… no, really I’m just going to be here. Hopefully first and foremost putting your stuff away,” I remind her, and she giggles a little, setting my heart on fire. Just two more months… “Anyway, it’s probably just going to be studying and working with the team, keeping Reefside safe…”

“And there’s still unfinished business,” she states and I am reminded of just how close to home for her that unfinished business is.

“We’re still trying to find a way to help him,” I explain soberly.

“And there’s that Zeltrax guy you mentioned…”

The moment she brings him up, I feel the fear and guilt over that revelation rise up again. Smitty is gone. I know that, just like I know I had nothing to do with what happened to him. But the fact that he might hurt Kim is enough to make me feel scared beyond all comprehension.

“Are you sure that I can’t send you a remote alarm? A personal shield or something?” I asked again for what felt like the hundredth time since the team and I started to ponder just how much Zeltrax knew about me and where my weak spots *really* were. “I know that when Billy was here that he’s got the focused scan on your location that will let us know if Zeltrax gets within a mile of you, but I’d feel better…”

“No. Billy and Hayley have done enough. Besides, I’ll be leaving at the end of next moth for Athens. And with the amount of security at the games, no one, even evil henchmen is getting near any of the athletes or coaches. I’m probably going to be safer than you…”

“Good,” I say quickly, and feel her tense up on the other end.

“You just have to be careful so when I get off the plane from Athens that you’re there to meet me.”

“Mesogog and his entire army couldn’t keep me from picking you up and bringing you home.”

“I’m glad. I’m looking forward to it.”

“Me too.”

“I love you Tommy,” Kim says, and I close my eyes as the feelings wash over me, the part of me that needs her like rain or air growing stronger with the declaration.

“I love you too Beautiful,” I return.

“You know I would love to chat longer…” she begins, and I look at the clock, seeing that we’ve been on for half an hour already.

“Okay, I still need to make some dinner myself.”

“Call me soon, alright?”

“I will. Take care Kim.”

“You too Tommy. Night.”

I hang up and set the phone back in its charger. Glancing around, I wonder if all the changes Kim being here will make this place feel more like a home than it does right now. As I move towards the bedroom and stare at the empty bed I am reminded just how empty this place is right now, the reality of my life outside of the excitement of being a ranger.

It’s not as glamorous as the TV show makes it out to be. But I wouldn’t trade their life for mine for anything. Because unlike how it always seems to be on those television series, I’m going to get the girl in the end.

God, I can’t wait until September…


	22. Second Chances

“So, I guess show business really isn’t all it’s cracked up to be,” Conner asked Kira as she walked them to the exit of the studio.

“Hey, at least it’s a lot easier than school work or fighting monsters,” she fired back.

“I still think it’s cool that you get to work on the Funky Fisherman,” Ethan stated.

“Please, you’re such a geek about this show,” Conner remarked as the trio stood at the doorway. “It’s a job, and an unpaid one no less.”

“If it was an internship as the bench boy for the L.A. Galaxy, you wouldn’t be thinking it was so bad, now would you?” Ethan fired back.

“They have an internship?” Conner asked hopefully, only to find Ethan and Kira fighting not to laugh.

“You two need to get over it,” Kira insisted, and shoved the two out the door. “I’ll see you both at practice with Dr. O tomorrow afternoon. Now get out of here so I can get back to work.”

Waving goodbye, the two headed for Conner’s car and drove off, leaving Kira to trudge back in to see if the Funky Fisherman had decided he could eat green M&M’s.

-

The team finally all arrived in the forested area behind Dr. O’s underground headquarters for the ranger team. Tommy sat on his ATV, now fully re-modified by Hayley. After getting it from Trent as part of his peace offering, Hayley had made sure there weren’t any other surprises.

Standing beside their bikes, Kira, Ethan and Conner watched their teacher, mentor and teammate intently. He seemed distracted, and kept looking around the area.

“Dr. O, is there something we should know about?” Conner asked concerned.

“No, just I feel like we’re really easy targets out here. What with Kira’s recent problems at the TV studio,” Tommy remarked, finally settling into one place, his eyes focused on the team.

“Yeah, and we almost had a yellow ranger expose... seems like there was a security camera in the studio, and Kira nearly got found out by Devin,” Ethan offered, making Kira glare at the blue ranger from her place by her motorcycle.

“What?” Tommy nearly yelled, swinging his gaze to where Kira stood.

“No, it’s okay Dr. O. The tape got destroyed, so no one knows about it,” Conner said quickly.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t think...”

“You guys all need to be more careful. I mean Ethan, you called Kira by name during the fight with the termite monster... you can’t just do that in front of people and hope to keep your identities secret.”

“I didn’t do it intentionally,” Ethan argued, and Tommy simply sighed and leaned against his ride.

“I know Ethan. And that’s the worst thing I could say about it. You guys need to be more careful. There aren’t many second chances in this world to fix things like having your identities getting leaked to the world,” Tommy stated, and ran a hand through his hair.

“I know all about second chances,” Kira remarked. “We gave one to the Funky Fisherman yesterday. Let him change his ways.”

“And you certainly know about that, what with being evil and all,” Ethan directed to Dr. O, and had Kira and Conner stare at him.

“What are you saying?” Conner hissed, not believing his friend’s tactlessness.

“No Conner, Ethan’s right,” Tommy said, turning to look at the teens.

“Huh?” Kira blurted out, not understanding how they’d gone from her not thinking about surveillance cameras to Dr. O’s ranger past.

“I have had more than my fair share of second chances,” Tommy explained, walking to lean on the front tire, facing the rangers. “I should have been asked to give up my power coin after nearly killing Jason and the original team. Instead, they embraced me with open arms.”

Kira glanced over at Conner and Ethan, and wondered if they could do something like that. And if they would ever have the chance to do so...

“Hopefully you’ll be able to do the same if we find a way to help Trent back to our side,” Tommy remarked, making Kira’s jaw drop.

Did his ranger powers include telepathy, she wondered.

“I’d forgotten about Trent...” Conner began, and glanced to where Kira stood, her mouth slack in surprise at Dr. O’s comment.

“I mean, I guess we would give him a second chance,” Ethan stated, feeling self-conscious and crossing his arms over his chest.

“That’s what it really means to get a second chance,” Tommy explained. “To give someone who had hurt you the opportunity to come back and make a better future.”

“Like you and Kim?” Conner suggested, and everyone was taken aback.

“What are you talking about?” questioned Ethan, looking from Conner to Dr. O.

“How?” Tommy started, surprised by Conner’s words.

“I asked Hayley about why she seemed to not like Kim when she was here during our first run-ins with the white ranger, and you got fossilized. She mentioned something about Kim breaking up with you in a really bad way.”

“Kim and you broke up?” Ethan asked, still lost by the twist his friend had just thrown into the conversation.

“Not now, back before when he was with the old ranger teams,” Conner corrected the blue ranger, seeing Ethan slightly relax.

“How? When?” Kira stammered, confused as well.

Kira tried to wrap her head around the idea that Kim would leave Dr. O. For as long as Kira had known Kim, she’d known that the gymnastics coach and former ranger loved Dr. O with a passion that she couldn’t imagine ever being extinguished. And if that had happened, how could they have found a way to get back together...

“It was a long time ago, and I really don’t like thinking about it.”

“But why would Kim break up with you, even a long time ago? I mean, you guys have been all hot and heavy since we’ve known you,” Ethan said, puzzled.

“Things happen, people drift apart,” Tommy remarked, closing his eyes and rubbing his forehead with his hand.

“But you guys are together now. How did that happen?” Kira asked.

Tommy glanced at his team and realized that there wasn’t going to be any practice at this rate. Sighing, he turned and climbed onto his ATV and nodded at the others to follow suit.

“I might as well come clean about this. Come on, let’s take the bikes back in and I’ll explain the whole thing to you.”

The group drove into the underground entrance to the team’s command center. After stowing their rides, they wandered into one of the corners of the basement that they’d found themselves sitting in before – when Trent had kicked their ass so handily and when they’d been through other problems with their adversaries.

“So, Hayley made it out like Kim really hurt you bad Dr. O. How did you guys get back together?” Conner questioned, finally asking what he’d been curious about since he asked Hayley about her comment to Kim nearly a month back.

“Why did she break up with you is a more important question,” insisted Kira, leaning over and smacking Conner’s arm.

Before he could retaliate, Tommy hushed them all.

“Look, I’ll tell you what happened. It’s not really something you guys need to know, but I think that if you’re to understand what a true second chance is then maybe you need to hear this,” Tommy stated simply, taking a seat on a slab of rock and taking a deep breath.

“Kim was offered the chance to train for the Pan Globals in gymnastics. She was still the pink ranger then, and we, the team and I all convinced her to take the chance and go. While she was there, our communication became... infrequent. My duties with the rangers, her training schedule... and other people found their way into our lives. Kim finally felt that the relationship she had with me needed to be set aside so she could see if someone else was who was right for her.”

“She dumped you?” Conner blurted out, nearly leaping to his feet. He couldn’t believe it.

“And before you get all righteous on my behalf, I didn’t call her and try to get her to change her mind, or see if we could work things out. We were both to blame.”

“But you guys seem so in love now... how?” questioned Kira.

“And Hayley made it out like all the time she knew you, you never saw Kim,” Conner revealed.

“We hadn’t seen each other for a long time. A lot of years went by when we didn’t even talk.”

“Wow,” Ethan said under his breath, but everyone heard him anyway.

“It wasn’t until about two years ago that we both were in the same place and Kim asked if we could clear the air...”

“Two years...” Kira started, and then the pieces fell into place. “Kim mentioned something about Trini’s funeral around then. That would have been...”

“Someplace we both would have been at the same time. Yeah Kira, it was then. We talked about what had happened and...” Tommy started, and got cut off.

“And you declared your love and got all sappy,” offered Ethan, smiling a silly grin as he imagined the undying love that he’d been witnessing for the last few months.

“Actually, we decided to be friends.”

“Whoa, wait a minute. Back up the truck, because what you guys seem to have been doing isn’t friend behavior,” Ethan quickly replied, his world view skewing wildly.

“What? Kim and I had been apart for a long time. We both had other people come in and out of our lives. While yes, we still cared about one another, we weren’t ready to jump back into a relationship.”

“But you did in the end, because, well, if Kim and you aren’t all gooey in love, you’re really good actors,” Kira remarked.

“We spent over a year getting to know one another again. While it was long distance, it was still enough to make us both realize we wanted more from our relationship. So before I came to Reefside...”

“You and Kim hooked up again,” finished Conner, and Dr. O nodded.

“So when I said that you and Kim were back together again to Billy a few weeks ago, you really were back together, not just ‘seeing more of each other’,” mused Kira.

“I wondered why he seemed so shocked,” Ethan remarked.

“Billy was there when Kim and I broke up. Hopefully he’ll be around for...” started Tommy and then quickly shut his mouth before he said anything he didn’t want anyone knowing about yet.

With his luck, Ethan would e-mail Kim and let the cat out of the bag before he was ready to tell Kim himself what he wanted...

“So you guys got a second chance then,” Conner stated, finally understanding what Dr. O had meant when he’d suggested he’d gotten more second chances then he deserved.

“That we did. Because we made it. Just like you guys need to make sure that you give people the opportunity to make up for their mistakes.”

The trio all seemed to nod in understanding when the alarm at the console went off. Kira sighed, and Ethan and Conner both moaned aloud.

“What do we have to do to get a break from these guys?” Conner asked as they all quickly got up to find a group of Tyrano-drones attacking the local shopping mall.

“Well, we can always give them a second chance to change their ways,” joked Ethan before they got in position.

“Dino Thunder, Power Up!” all four called out, the three teens adding a ‘ha!’ to the end, morphing them into their ranger uniforms.

“Let’s take the Raptor Cycles,” suggested Kira. “At least then we can get some of the practice we were scheduled to have.”

“Alright, let’s go, and everyone be careful – no names!” Tommy reminded them, and they nodded as they raced to their bikes and drove out of the underground lair with Tommy’s ATV right behind them.

As they drove off to stop the latest threat, Tommy couldn’t help but wonder what it would be like for him to have not gotten that second chance... to be doing this without Kim in his life. What he got was something he didn’t like at all. No, he needed Kim in his life, now more than ever.

And he had to be thankful for the fact that sometimes you got the second chance you really needed.


	23. A Friend in Need

Once the team had split up after the latest threat, Tommy turned and headed home. After everything that had happened recently, he’d been sidetracked into skipping his calls to Kim. When he got home, he saw the tell tale signs that he had two messages waiting for him as he walked into his living room.

Sighing, he ran a hand through his short locks and picked up the phone without bothering to listen to them. He had a pretty good idea who they were from. Walking to the kitchen, he dialed Kim’s number and cradled the phone to his ear with his shoulder as he opened the refrigerator with one hand, the other reaching in to grab a MGD from his left over stock from his visit with Zack and Adam.

Which reminded him that he still hadn’t called to see if either of them had gotten a job offer from their San Francisco trip.

As Kim’s phone rang, Tommy scrounged the freezer for a frozen pizza and turned on the oven. The life of a bachelor wasn’t the greatest, and while he could cook, cooking for one person wasn’t any fun. Still, he just had to wait until Kim moved in, and his cooking problems would be half solved.

Finally, just as Kim’s machine began to pick up, he heard her frenzied voice on the other end. It was a bit strange, hearing her recorded message and her at the same time. Sort of like a Doublemint gum commercial.

“Tommy? Hold on, I have to turn off the machine,” Kim said as her recorded voice announced she wasn’t available and to leave a message. Finally she returned after a short squelching sound pierced his eardrum as the machine shut off. “Hey there handsome. Where have you been? I’ve called like...”

“A few times,” Tommy interrupted humorously. “I saw there were two messages on the machine, and I’ve been busy so I assumed...”

“That I had called and left a few messages. Yeah, guilty as charged. You know why though...”

“I do, and I’m sorry Kim. We had some stuff going on and I got sidetracked,” Tommy replied, chagrined as he sat at the kitchen table and pried the top off his beer.

“Just like always,” Kim said with a light tone, a smile obvious in it. “Still, I get worried. After the last time you didn’t call...”

“No, actually, Trent’s been keeping himself scarce these days. I don’t know if that’s good or bad.”

“Any luck on breaking the evil imprint on his dino gem?” Kim asked, curious.

“Not that I know of. Hayley’s put it on her list of things to do, but we have had other recent concerns... ones that took precedence since Trent seemed to be out of the picture at the moment.”

“You mean Zeltrax.”

“Come on Kim. You need to look at this from my point of view. If it was me in trouble, and you could keep me safe...” Tommy tried to suggest, hoping that his innate understanding of the woman he loved was still as accurate as it had been for the last nine years.

“I would do what you’re doing now,” Kim said resigned. “God, how do we keep getting into things like this?”

“Well, it helps that I have a uniform these days,” he joked.

“And a very flattering one at that. I’m still looking forward to seeing just how easy it is to take off without unmorphing you know.”

Tommy groaned and licked his lips as he imagined his petite lover doing just that. Before he knew it, his mind was threatening to run away with the images, and he took a long gulp on his beer to cool off his slightly rising temperature and wet his dry mouth. Just then the oven beeped to let him know it had reached the prescribed temperature for his food to begin cooking.

“You are a wicked woman, you know that Kim?” he said as he went and opened the oven, shoving the pizza inside, letting the door slam shut.

“I’ve just been without my lover for too long now,” she answered with a smoky voice that made Tommy wish he could just ignore Mesogog and his plans to change Earth into a dinosaur paradise and run to her.

“I know what you mean.”

“So what had you all sidetracked this week?”

“Kira got an internship with the local TV station, and Mesogog’s thugs kidnapped one of the kiddie show characters to turn into the latest monster.”

“Oh no... but you rescued everybody, right?”

“Don’t we always? But yeah, we did. Unfortunately in the process Kira almost got found out – she forgot there were video surveillance cameras in the room when she morphed,” Tommy explained, taking another sip of his beer and checking his watch to see how much longer he had on his dinner.

“How did you guys make sure no one saw the footage?” Kim asked, surprised that Kira had been so reckless, and then shrugged it off. The new yellow ranger did have that careless trait, just like she did.

“Luck. Devin, one of my students who is also interning at the station had a tape of the surveillance cameras, but he ended up dropping it into a punch bowl.”

“Video tape flavored punch anyone? Ugh.” Kim laughed, and then turned serious. “So once you rescued the TV show person, everything got fixed?”

“Kira was thinking about quitting the internship, but changed her mind. I guess that she decided to stick with it. Sort of like giving the thing a second chance...” Tommy started, and then trailed off as he realized where he was unconsciously heading.

“Tommy, is there something you want to tell me? You can talk to me about anything you know.”

“I told the team about you and me.”

“What do you...”

“Conner asked me about what Hayley said to you about you breaking my heart,” he explained, taking another gulp of his drink and then opening the oven door to peek at his dinner.

“Oh,” she said simply, silence filling up the line for a moment before she continued, “and what did you tell them?”

“That you and I had broken up a long time ago, and that I got luckier than I deserved when we were able to find our way back together.”

“I think we were both lucky,” Kim remarked, her voice filling with the love she felt for this man.

“Well, it’s all in the past anyway. I got my second chance to have you back in my life, and as I told Jason, I wasn’t going to do anything to need a third one.”

Kim laughed on the other end, and as she did, Tommy checked his pizza once again, and seeing the slightly burnt edges, carefully balanced the phone again while he slid on some oven mitts to pull the pie from the oven and set on the counter to cool enough to eat. Shutting off the oven, he pried the phone from his shoulder and went back to the conversation.

“Still Kim, it’s true. I have had so many second chances; being accepted by the team after Rita made me the green ranger, being given the white ranger mantle after losing the green ranger powers, finding my way back to you after all those years... I don’t think I could ask for much more without being greedy.”

“Well, where I’m concerned, you can be as greedy as you like.”

“Sounds good. Speaking of you and greedy, when are you leaving for Greece?”

“The games start August 13th, so we’ll be arriving about five days before that, so we’ll probably leave on the sixth. Why?”

“I just figured I better make sure I clear my calendar for when your stuff should arrive,” he remarked with a smirk as he took a knife of the pizza and started cutting.

“You really want me to ship my things to Reefside before I leave for Greece?”

“I did tell you this before, didn’t I?”

“Yes, but I thought you were joking,” Kim replied soberly, still getting used to the idea that in less than two months she’d be living in Reefside with Tommy permanently.

As it was, she hadn’t even figured out what she was going to do about a job when she got there. Or what to do about her furniture, if she should sell it or donate it to charity. And then there was her computer. Should she take that, or just back up her personal information and load it all up on Tommy’s computer... it was a lot of stuff to consider.

“No joke Beautiful. I want you to send out whatever you need to live here before you get on that plane to Athens. I’ll make sure everything finds a place here and then you’ll find a place here when you get off the plane from Greece. Deal?”

“I guess... I just have a lot of stuff I have to figure out what to do with.”

“Well, I can tell you that the twin bed is something you don’t need to ship.”

On her end of the line, Kim fought a blush and went quiet. As Tommy slid a few pieces of pizza onto a plate and headed back to the kitchen table, he noted that she hadn’t replied to his comment, and that worried him.

“Kim?”

“Hmm? Sorry Tommy, I was just thinking of being there, when I’m still here... it’s lonely, you know?” she answered, her voice relating just what she meant.

“Intimately,” he remarked in a near whisper, and they both felt the ache fill them as they longed to close the distance that was part of their everyday life... for the moment.

“Two months handsome...”

“I know,” he said, and then took a bite out of a slice of the pepperoni and sausage pizza, his stomach finally pleased at being fed.

“I love you,” she said, and Tommy felt his heart swell at the soft spoken words.

“I love you too Beautiful.”

“Did I hear you munching something?” Kim suddenly asked, and Tommy realized his attempt at eating and talking hadn’t gone unheard.

“Uh... no?” he tried to bluff, but knew on the other end Kim had to have figured out what he was up to.

“You haven’t eaten, have you?”

“I was trying to, but...”

“Hang up the phone, and eat your food and call me tomorrow,” she insisted.

“But I don’t want to...”

“Tommy, you’re being silly. You have the rest of your life to talk to me.”

“I know, but I miss you,” he responded, hoping his pitiful little boy voice would grant him a slight reprieve.

“I miss you too, but you need to eat.”

Hearing the steely determination in her voice, he sighed and knew he wasn’t going to win this round.

“Alright, I’ll call you tomorrow. Love you Kim.”

“Love you too. I’ll talk to you tomorrow then.”

With that, Kim hung up, and Tommy pressed the button on his phone, hanging up his end of the line. Setting the phone aside, he turned towards the pizza, and quickly ate three pieces, washing them down with the rest of his beer. Another two pieces later and he felt full. Getting up, he dumped the bottle in the trash and rummaged for some foil to wrap the leftover pizza to store for another meal.

As he shoved them into the mostly empty fridge, he was reminded again of the fact that in two months time he’d be sharing this house with Kim. Just that simple thought had him on the edge of bouncing off the walls with happiness. Yet, when he’d always dreamed of living with Kim 24/7, it had always been as husband and wife.

When Kim had sent that letter, that dream had been put on the shelf, only coming back out after they’d made peace after Trini’s funeral and he and Kim had admitted their feelings for one another almost a year ago now. It hadn’t become such a big deal until he’d put her on the plane after that first visit, and now, after knowing that Kim had been thinking in the same general terms, he knew that soon he was going to have to ask her.

Which still terrified him.

For a man who had seen what he had seen, done what he’d done and been who he was, to be afraid of asking the woman who had always been in his hear to marry him simply scared him shitless. What if she said no?

But why would she say that? She had all but admitted that she wanted to be married to him months ago. And from the times they’d seen each other and their calls and e-mails, nothing in her attitude suggested that had changed. All he had to do was figure out how to do it.

Which brought him to where he was now... knowing that someday soon he was going to have to ask. Except he had no idea what to say.

And he didn’t have a ring...

“Damn,” he said out loud to his empty house.

Who could he ask for help?

The same person he always asked when he couldn’t talk to Kim, he reminded himself. Grabbing another beer from the fridge, he popped it open and took a long swallow as he picked up the phone in his free hand and headed to the computer desk and his address book. Setting the beer and phone down, he flipped through the book and after a few seconds he found what he was looking for. Phone in one hand, he punched in the number with the other. As the line ran on the other end, he brought the phone up to his ear and waited to see if he got a human being or the answering machine.

“Talk to me,” said a male voice, and Tommy let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.

“Jason?’

“Tommy! Hey bro, what’s news?” Jason asked, curious at his friend’s out of the blue call.

“Not much. I just wanted to check in.”

At Tommy’s words, Jason felt his eyebrows raise and skepticism fill him. He’d known Tommy for over nine years now, and for as much as they were best friends and brothers in all but blood, he couldn’t remember more than a few times that Tommy called for no reason. Of course, the hesitancy in his friend’s voice told him what he really needed to know - his friend had a reason for calling and was stalling.

“Come on Tommy. I know you better than that. What’s going on?”

“I have something to ask you,” Tommy said, grabbing the bottle and taking a long gulp to grant him courage to ask his friend his advice on this issue.

“Shoot.”

“What do you know about picking out engagement rings?”


	24. Carbon Copy Memories

As soon as I heard her voice say hello, I blurted out the news.

“We got him back Kim.”

“Tommy?” she asked, confirming my identity, and then the significance of what I could be talking about hit her. “Trent?”

“He’s on our side now.”

“How?”

“Long story,” I replied, taking a seat on the couch.

“I’ll make the time,” she replied, and I realized that she had invested as much emotionally into Trent being brought to the good side as the rest of us had.

“I don’t have all the details, but we didn’t do it.”

“So, you’re sure he’s on your side now?” she asked skeptically.

I understand her reluctance to believe. The team did, and I was a little on the untrusting side myself, but I had a few things going for me. First was the rescue, and second was my own experience. Things that made believing in Trent a lot easier.

“I’m sure. He saved my life Kim. Zeltrax was coming straight at me, and he could have just stood by as I got skewered, but he helped me. That was the turning point… I knew he was in control finally. The guys are a little skeptical about Trent’s sudden reformation, but they’ve decided to give him the benefit of the doubt. I can’t begin to tell you how happy Kira is at this turn of events.”

“I’m glad for Kira. As for the boys, they’ll come around. But I’m interested to know… how do *you* feel about it?”

“I…” I pause before I can say anything more. I’m not sure exactly how I feel. On one hand, I’m relieved that Trent’s free of the evil influence that had been placed on the white dino gem. And I’m concerned about how the team is doing in accepting Trent back, Conner and Ethan grudgingly and Kira welcomingly. I’m worried about Trent, and the long term effects… ones I’m intimately familiar with. And then I’m feeling guilty. That I spent weeks where I didn’t look to Hayley for a way to help Trent, that I spent time in Kim’s embrace while I could have been searching for solutions to give Trent back his freedom.

“Tommy?”

“Hmm, oh, sorry Beautiful, I was just…”

“Trying to sort it all out,” she stated knowingly, and I was slightly taken aback.

Does she know me *that* well? Of course she does, I remind myself. That’s why she’s your *everything*.

“Besides the kids and Trent, how is this affecting you?” 

“I’m glad he’s back,” I finally admit, “but I feel like I failed him.”

“Because you weren’t the one to save him?”

“Yeah. I mean, somehow Trent got free of the spell on the white dino gem, and all I did was give him a place to go afterwards.”

“Okay, so *you* didn’t break the spell,” Kim says, and I find myself frowning, forgetting that she isn’t here to see my reactions and read their meaning.

“No, and that is really eating at me. I was supposed to help him. And all I did was wait around until it was done for me.”

“Tommy, the rescuing part is the easy part,” she softly spoke. “It’s the rest of it, the atoning that’s tough.”

“But…”

“No buts. How long did it take you to get over the nightmares? To feel comfortable around the team? Feel worthy of the job? Feel like you had the right to be happy?”

I frown but I know what she’s talking about. She knows about all of these things, because next to Jason, she’s the only person on the planet that knows what I really went through. I had nightmares for the first six months. In fact, they only went away around the time that I lost the green ranger powers and that Kim and I got together. The truth is that I’m not sure which event was the true reason for them going away. 

As to feeling comfortable, feeling worthy… I don’t think I did until Zordon gave me the white ranger mantle. Because it was only then that I realized that I was being chosen on my own merits, not because I already had a power coin. 

And as to feeling like I had a right to be happy… the fact is that I would *never* have been happy if it wasn’t for Kim.

Still this isn’t really a revelation for me. I’ve been dealing with all of these feelings since the day Jason broke the Sword of Darkness. I have just gotten better at finding ways to rationalize and channel the emotions into other things: being a ranger, the duty, school, racing cars, doing the dino research, Kim…

But it wasn’t until just this moment that I connected these two fundamental things; I never realized just how much they were tied together. Kim and my being a ranger. When we first met, it was a matter of days before I was turned evil. During the time we dated, I was without my powers for maybe a few months at best. When Kim left me, I was a ranger. I think the years that we were apart were the only time I was without both her and my powers. And now that she’s back in my life, I’m a ranger again.

I have to wonder if that’s how it will always be. Though I can’t see myself in black spandex at sixty.

I smile for the first time today, and feel my heart thump at the thought of Kim and I, old and gray on our porch with our grandkids.

“Tommy?” calls Kim’s voice over the phone line, and I realize that she’s been waiting for me to say something while I finally comprehended where Kim and being a ranger merge and overlap in my life.

“Sorry. Just thinking.”

“About?”

A knock at the door brought me up short. I didn’t expect anyone, and there weren’t any deliveries I was expecting. I sighed and figured I better find out who it was and what they wanted.

“Hold on a sec,” I told Kim as I walked to the door.

Throwing it open, I was and yet wasn’t surprised to see Trent there. The basket of ‘cleaning supplies’ the team gave him was in his hands, and his clothes had that slightly soapy wet look. I guess he was done. Then I took a look at his face. The look I found there was painfully familiar – embarrassment, guilt, fear… yeah, he was going through *all* of it.

“Trent…”

On her end, I heard Kim’s intake of breath as I spoke Trent’s name. I guess she wasn’t expecting him at my door either.

“Dr. Oliver… can I come in?”

I hesitated, looking from the lost young man to the phone and back again. In the end, I knew what my answer was going to be.

“Kim, I hate to do this, but…” I started, and she stopped me quickly.

“I understand,” she said simply, her voice thick with emotion. “Take care, okay?”

“I love you,” I said quietly.

“I love you too.”

Hanging up the phone, I waved Trent in, closing the door behind him. He shuffled inside, dropping the basket of items on the floor. I pointed to the couch, and as he moved towards the far end, I hung up the cordless and then made my way to the kitchen. I could really use a drink, but I choose two glasses of water, thinking that both of us could use the cold, quenching feel of ice water over our tongues as we get to whatever Trent wants to talk about.

Not like I can’t guess.

It seems like no matter what I do, my past always seems to catch up with me.

Now, after so long with my thinking that Trent was lost to the side of good forever, here he is, back in the fold. This time, there were no tricks, no deals or lies. He was his own man.

No thanks to me or the team.

And that last part was something I was going to have to deal with, and soon. Kim said the rescuing is the easy part, the atonement is what’s hard. And I know in my head that’s true. My soul is another matter.

Turning back to the living room, I walk carefully, setting my path in my head as my feet walk towards the sofa. What I find there makes my heart ache. Trent’s still standing by the couch, his head down and his entire posture that of someone who realizes that he’s got a long way to go to be accepted and forgiven by the people around him. It’s like a weight of a thousand pounds weighing on his shoulders, and I find myself wincing at the memory of it.

“Have a seat,” I say, reaching over, handing him a glass of water as I turn to sit at the other end of the couch with mine. “So, what’s up?”

“I want to apologize again,” he started, and I sighed and shook my head with a sad little smile. It was like looking at myself nine years ago.

“Don’t. It’s not your fault. We all know that, and we understand.”

“Still, after everything I did, I hope you’ll be able to truly trust me,” Trent says with a dip to his shoulders.

“Everyone deserves a second chance.”

“Even me?”

“Especially you Trent.”

“Why?”

Ah yes, time for the sixty four thousand dollar question. And time for him to hear the truth about the mentor of the dino rangers and the black ranger’s past.

“Because I was where you were once.”

“I…”

I know I’ve struck him dumb. How could anyone guess that good old Tommy Oliver, ‘greatest’ and longest living active ranger and PhD had been forced to be an evil ranger my first time in uniform. No, it wasn’t something you would expect.

His bewildered look makes me remember myself, and I decide to take some pity on him and offer him what I can.

“Once upon a time, it was me in your shoes Trent. I was the formerly evil ranger. And my friends, the power rangers were willing to forgive me, take me in.”

“How did you forgive yourself though?” Trent asked me, his eyes like laser beams. 

I shrugged. How am I supposed to answer that question when there were times I don’t feel like I’ll ever fully atone for what I did. People died because of me. And not because I was too slow to stop a monster. No, it was because I sent the Dragonzord through downtown Angel Grove or I went head to head with the rangers, not caring who might get in the middle, or hit by the crossfire.

Jason and Kim are the real reasons I’m still sane.

Jason for supporting me, suggesting I join them.

Kim for loving me when I didn’t even *like* myself.

“I won’t lie to you Trent, it’s not easy. But day-by-day, it will get easier. You have the team, and you’ll have me. I know what it takes to be a formerly evil ranger, to try your hardest to atone. And if you stay the course, there will be a day when we’ll finally defeat Mesogog and you’ll have done your duty.”

Trent frowns, and looks down, his shoulders slumping as he braces his elbows on his knees. It confuses the hell out of me. Does he know something he hasn’t said?

“Trent, you’ve been in Mesogog’s place, is there anything you can tell me about how we can stop him?”

“No,” he says tonelessly.

“All right.”

“Dr. Oliver?”

“Yeah?”

“You really think that someone who has been evil can be good again?”

The way he says it, I have to wonder if he’s not just talking about himself, but I don’t know. For now, he’ll have to have his own secrets. Maybe Kira, Conner and Ethan can help him more than I can with those…

“I *know* they can. I’m the proof of that.”

“Cool,” he replies, and I see a smile for probably the first time since Kira and the team left earlier.

Just as that thought crosses my mind, I hear noises at the door, and then the doorbell rings loudly. I smile then, realizing that the cavalry has arrived. Putting the untouched glass down on the coffee table, I get up and head to the door. Opening it, I find Kira there with Conner and Ethan behind her, looking less than enthused. I wonder what she threatened them with before they agreed to come here.

“Hey there guys. What’s up?”

“Hi Dr. O… is Trent here?” Kira asks, and I see the smile that remind me of my own ranger angel when I’d been freed of Rita’s spell.

“He’s sitting on the couch. Did you want to come in?”

Moving away from the door, I watched as she moved in slightly and set her gaze on Trent. He was barely meeting her eyes, but he wasn’t avoiding her. That was good.

“The guys and I thought maybe you’d like to grab a smoothie at Hayley’s.”

“Really?” Trent asked, surprise evident in his voice.

“Come on dude,” Ethan said suddenly. “I admit that we were a little skeptical, but you’re on our team now, and we rangers have to stick together.”

“It’ll be cool,” added Conner, moving behind Kira.

Trent looks over at me, and I nod and grin. *This* is what he needs.

“Sure, let’s go.”

Getting up, Trent heads for the door and Kira, Conner and Ethan surround him as they head out the door, talking lightly and getting familiar with each other again. As they walk down the path to Conner’s car, I realize now that with friends like these, he’ll be okay.

Just like me.


	25. The I in Team

With the threat from Zeltrax stopped for the moment and the Shield of Triumph safely in Conner’s hands, Tommy assured everyone that they could head out. As the team exited upstairs, Conner offered to give Trent a ride home like the rest of the team, but he passed. He still wasn’t fully comfortable with everyone yet, and the appearance of the White Terrorsaurus and the white ranger clone didn’t help.

Kira looked at him with a frown, but followed Ethan and Conner to the red muscle car. As the three rangers drove off, Trent frowned and started home by foot, his mind circling around the issues weighing on him. 

While he’d been offered a place with the team, there was still a lingering mistrust. They’d started to get along and work together, but there was still an underlying willingness on the team’s part to believe that he could go back to his ‘evil’ ways. Of the group, Kira was the most accepting while Conner and Ethan continued to have deeply ingrained doubts, no matter how much they had ‘accepted’ him among them.

And his inability to be fully honest with them didn’t help matters.

When Kira had said that there were no secrets between them, he had cringed inwardly. He wondered if they knew that he hadn’t told them everything. He got the feeling that even though Dr. O trusted him and that the black ranger knew that he hadn’t been totally upfront with him about his time as the evil white ranger.

Dr. O’s behavior and what he’d shared with him continued to gnaw at his soul. When he’d gone to his teacher to talk about his unease at his evil past, he never expected that he could find not only understanding, but a kindred spirit. Of all the things he would have believed about the black ranger, the fact that he’d been evil and that he knew the kind of guilt and fear of not being trustworthy by his fellow rangers was not one of them. The shock he’d gotten when Dr. Oliver had explained what he’d gone through when he’d been evil had been overwhelming.

He had realized that if Dr. O could get through it, so could he. But when they’d talked, he hadn’t been fully honest. Dr. O had asked if there was anything he could offer to help in the fight Mesogog, and he’d stayed silent. Even though his teacher nodded his head and accepted his reply, he still felt like the black ranger knew that he wasn’t telling the whole truth about his time as the evil white ranger. 

Which he wasn’t.

He couldn’t tell Dr. O about his father. There were lines that you just couldn’t cross. His word to his father outweighed any loyalty he had to Dr. O and the rangers. And based on his father’s comments, he knew that Anton was fighting to break free of the control Mesogog had n him.

He needed to give him the time to do that.

Yet at the same time, it ate at him that maybe he was wrong. These were power rangers. They had access to such amazing things. If they knew that Mesogog was part of his father, maybe they could find a cure…

But he couldn’t take that chance.

Before he realized it, Trent looked up and saw that he was home already. Hopefully his *dad* would be there…

-

Kira sat at one of the circular tables at the Cyberspace café. She was nursing the café latte that she’d ordered, thinking the flavor and caffeine would keep her awake. Unfortunately, all it was doing was making her think too much. Ever since Trent had shown up, free of the evil influence that had been on the dino gem, she’d had this bad feeling. Like something still wasn’t quite right. 

“Earth to Kira,” said Ethan, coming over with his own drink, a chocolate milkshake and sat beside her.

“What?”

“You seem preoccupied. Everything okay?”

“I guess. I just have this feeling…”

“Oh no, please don’t tell me you think we’re gonna get attacked again already,” asked Conner, arriving at the tail end of her comment.

“No, just… I feel like there’s something we don’t know still. You know, like the other shoe hasn’t dropped yet.”

“Ah, that feeling. I’ve been having that one too,” Ethan commented.

“So, what do you think it is? Maybe the white ranger clone really Trent, and vice versa?”

Kira and Ethan both glared at Conner, and he smiled at them. Sure, it was a really bad joke, but humor really kept him from freaking out on a regular basis. It was bizarre enough that he was a power ranger. The things they saw were just so crazy, he felt if he didn’t laugh about it he’d go crazy.

“Okay, so no on the switched Trent theory. What else could it be?” questioned Ethan before taking a sip of the shake.

“Maybe I’m just overreacting,” Kira offered, trying to smooth over the issue.

“I don’t think so. You have good instincts Kira. I think there’s something to it,” Conner remarked seriously, reaching over to cover one of her hands with his own.

Kira stared at the red ranger and smiled. He was the one with the new cool powers, but here he was making sure that she knew that he believed in her and her instincts. He had grown up into a good leader.

Shrugging her shoulders in answer, Kira glanced over to see Hayley moving out from behind the counter. The brains of the ranger technology had been a good mood for weeks. First there had been the former blue ranger’s appearance, and then with Trent being freed from the evil influence on the white dino gem, he’d come back to work and patched things up with the red-headed woman.

“Hey guys, I was wondering, how is Trent doing, coping with not being evil and all? He seems okay, but…” Hayley asked as she set down Conner’s smoothie on the table.

“Okay I guess. We haven’t talked as much as I thought we would,” Kira sighed, and Hayley nodded and walked over to help some other customers.

That was something Kira was getting used to… the fact that as much as she wanted to help and be there for him, the one person that really could talk to was Dr. O. He was the only one of them who could really empathize with Trent. 

As Kira took a sip of her latte, Ethan shot a look at Conner and he raised his eyebrows to show a facial shrug. Neither of them truly knew what Trent’s evil ways might have done to him. But his behavior still wasn’t really ‘normal’. Both of them were still a bit hesitant about his reformation, even if they’d all hung out the week before after his turn to good. They knew that they should be more understanding, but it was hard.

They both just hoped that Dr. O could help.

“It probably takes some time,” Ethan remarked, trying to put things into perspective. “Did Kim ever mention how long it took Dr. O to get over being the evil green ranger back in the day?” 

“No, but I got the feeling that it was a while, and it was hard on everybody.”

“Well, at least Trent’s got Dr. O to talk to. That’s got to count for something,” said Conner, and Kira and Ethan both nodded in agreement, shelving the conversation for the time being.

-

Tommy Oliver paced the living room of his house, wondering just what new twists were in store for his new team. Trent coming over to the side of good was a big adjustment. Conner with enhanced powers was another. And the evil white ranger clone was something that reminded him of a log time past when it was his evil clone running around Angel Grove, both in the present and the past.

All of those things were equally significant, but he couldn’t keep from thinking about the changes that affected him on a more… personal level.

Like Kim moving in with him and him asking her to marry him.

Still, those were future realities that were his and his alone. What he and Kim did wouldn’t affect the team. What happened with Conner and Trent did.

And most worrisome was still Trent’s hesitancy to be truly part of the team, and the lingering distrust of the guys in his reformation. He was glad that Trent had come to talk to him, and he hoped that he’d been able to give the young man something to help him cope.

But making people trust you wasn’t always easy. And getting past the violence and pain you dished out on people that didn’t deserve it wasn’t something that went away in a day or a week.

Hell, to be honest, it still was with him, even if it was now an accepted part of what made him who he was.

It still amazed him that he’d gotten through being under Rita’s spell as well as he had. Something like that could scar a man; make him forever doubt himself, his motives and his behavior. But he’d had Kim, Jason and the rest of the team. They all had helped him in one way or another to find the hero that was within him. Helped him reconcile the fact that you needed an edge, and that you could always walk the fine line between good and evil and come back.

His friends had been the reason that he was here today. He just had to hope that this new team could do as well with Trent as Kim and the others had done with him.

Just thinking of Kim again drove him to break his pacing and head for the phone. He hadn’t called her, and knowing his love, she probably would be checking the news for ranger activity and give him hell if he didn’t call her with his ‘report’.

Picking up the cordless phone, he started to dial. 

“Hello?” 

“Hi Beautiful,” Tommy said, and heard Kim’s sigh on the other end of the line.

“Hi yourself handsome. Are you calling to tell me that you guys had some fun today?” she asked in a knowing way.

“Please don’t tell me we were on TV again,” Tommy sighed as he moved to sit on the couch, stretching out along the soft fabric and wishing for the thousandth time since he last saw her that the Olympics were over and she was there.

“East coast evening news. Hey, you fight in downtown, you get publicity. You know, I think some days that I spent more time on TV between being a ranger and the Olympic trials than most actors do.”

Tommy laughed, and heard her voice join his.

“Well, I know the feeling Kim, although I don’t think I had more than one or two races filmed by a sports show or local news crew. Of course, you have a lot more face time still to come. You’ve got less than a month before you have to be in Athens.”

“I know. And I hope they have the power grids fixed before then. I am *not* looking forward to baking in 105 degree heat with eighteen teenage girls.”

“Well, that is something I can’t help you with. I will however be glued to my TV as they show the Women’s gymnastics events for a glimpse of you.”

Kim went quiet on her end, and Tommy knew he’d embarrassed the hell out of her. But what could he say… he wanted to wake up to her every day for the rest of his life. And with them separated by nearly two continents, he was looking forward to any opportunity to see her.

“So, once the Olympics are over, do you think that you can handle not being a celebrity?” he asked, redirecting the conversation to somewhere he knew she was comfortable.

“I would be more than happy to never be on a TV screen or interviewed for the rest of my life. All I have to do is get through all the press junkets when the team arrives in Athens, and all the press conferences during the games. Then I can settle down in Reefside and only read about the news, not be it.”

“Except I’ll be running off at every turn,” he reminded her.

“I know. But that’s the job. I know about that. I even miss it sometimes,” Kim replied simply, and Tommy sighed on his end.

“I miss you with me Kim… both in uniform and out.”

“Out of uniform and in your bed, you mean,” she said with a smirk in her voice.

“Hey! I wasn’t thinking…”

“Sure you weren’t. Tell me now that you weren’t thinking of you and me under the covers of your bed…” Kim challenged.

“…Okay, I can’t… sue me,” Tommy replied grudgingly as images of the last time Kim had shared their bed floated up to the surface and made him want to close his eyes and groan. “We’ve had so little time together Kim, and what time we have had since we got our relationship back on track is what keeps me going. The promise that one day I won’t have to let you leave to go home, because you will be home… with me.”

“I know Tommy,” Kim answered quickly, her own longing discernable in her tone of voice. “It’s hard to have you there and me here. I know we both have our responsibilities, but I just want to live a somewhat normal life with my not so normal boyfriend.”

Tommy considered telling Kim that he didn’t plan to be just her boyfriend for very long, but stopped himself. He’d just started talking with Jason about his desire to ask Kimberly to marry him. He didn’t want to get too far ahead of himself when Kim was still a month away from stepping off the plane in Reefside and staying forever.

“Enough about us for the moment, how is the team, and how is Trent doing?” inquired Kim

“Fine I guess. We had a talk, and I hope that it helped, but things with him are still very difficult,” Tommy explained, thoughts of his feeling that Trent was keeping something from them him and the team coloring his reply.

“And Kira and the team? Are they getting through to him?”

“I don’t know. I get the impression that Trent is still being removed from not only Ethan and Conner, but Kira too.”

“Oh… I hope that’s okay with her.”

“I think that Kira and Trent won’t find what you and I did Kim,” Tommy stated bluntly.

“Well, maybe it’s for the best… being in love with a ranger isn’t easy.”

“You made it look easy. You still do.”

“Flatterer,” Kim said laughingly. “So did you.”

“I was lucky. Between the shorts and skirts and you in pink spandex, how could I ever look at another woman?”

Kim laughed, and Tommy joined her, but he wondered if she ever compared herself and her pink spandex with Kat… 

“Good. I expect the same dedication to my legs and other non-spandex assets when I get to Reefside.”

“That I can guarantee,” Tommy stated, when a knock at the door brought him up short. Who would be there at this time of day?

“Kim, there’s someone at the door,” he stated as he got up from the couch.

“I’ll let you go and talk to you later,” Kim said quickly, before adding, “I love you.”

“Love you too Beautiful.”

Shutting off the phone as he crossed the room, Tommy opened the door to see a mail carrier there. The man smiled and handed him a package, and then turned back to the path. Juggling the box and the phone, Tommy turned back to sit on the couch, dropping the phone to the side as he looked at the brown cardboard with a white envelope with his address on it taped to the front.

It only took a second before he recognized the return address and was more than a bit surprised at it. He had no idea what they were sending him… Taking the envelope off the front, he ripped it open and unfolded the letter.

‘Tommy,

Sam asked my permission to send this to you, saying that you should have it now. It was our mother’s and I figured since you have so little of our parents in the first place that you should have it. Speaking of which, if you really do need this, you need to call me and tell me what’s going on.

Take care,  
David’

Placing the letter aside, Tommy opened the box, carefully pulling away the shredded newspaper until he reached a smaller box. Taking hold, he pulled the small cubed item from the paper. Carefully, he realized the box had a lid. Popping the hinges, he stared at the contents and smiled.

Yeah, exactly what he wanted, he thought happily. He’d have to call Sam and David to let them know it was perfect.


	26. The High Price of Fame

It was a simple thing for Tommy Oliver to walk upstairs from the basement command center, leaving Hayley alone to work on a new project. The rest of the team was off at Kira’s video shoot, and he really didn’t want to try and explain to Hayley what he’d just done. 

Kim though…

He hit the redial on the phone, and it quickly called Kim’s number. He hadn’t called anyone besides her since calling to talk with David and Sam. The phone rang three times before he heard the voice he longed to hear in the mornings when he woke up.

“Hello?”

“Kim,” he started, his voice cracking at the simple word.

“Tommy? Are you okay?” she asked quickly, wondering what had happened.

“I killed him.”

“Who? Tommy, you’re scaring me. What’s going on?”

“Zeltrax, Kim. I killed Zeltrax… Smitty, I don’t know what I should call him. I made a decision and I killed him.”

“Whoa, wait a minute. You killed Zeltrax? But I thought…” Kim stumbled, confused. 

When he’d called her to tell about Zeltrax’s identity, it had seemed like he was torn about what had happened, and Zeltrax’s belief that the accident had been Tommy’s fault. But they had talked through it and Kim had done her best to assure him that there wasn’t anything he could have done, couldn’t have known how Mesogog would twist Smitty into Zeltrax.

They had both hoped though that in the end that once Mesogog was destroyed, maybe Smitty could be saved.

Now Tommy was saying he’d destroyed that hope?

“I didn’t want to do it Kim… but I just couldn’t see any other answer,” Tommy explained, running a hand through his hair in his standard nervous habit and continued pacing the floor of the living room.

“What happened that forced you into it?” she asked, realizing that something serious had to have happened to make him kill the being who had been his friend.

“We got Conner the Triassic powers, I mentioned that last time we talked, right?”

“Yes, we talked about that already…”

“Well, Kira and Ethan can’t stay morphed when Conner’s in Triassic mode. He was fighting with Zeltrax’s scorpion vehicle, and I realized that I had to stop him. Once and for all time. So I jumped to his ship and gave him an ultimatum. Stand down or be destroyed,” he explained mechanically.

“Which of course he didn’t,” Kim guessed knowingly.

“No. So we went at it. There was a point when I tried… God I tried to get through to whatever was left of Smitty in him Kim, but he refused to listen. So… I did it.”

There was silence on the line as Kim tried to process the information he’d given her. He’d escalated the battle. Something that Zordon had preached time and again against. He’d chosen to stop Zeltrax permanently, even if he possibly could have let him retreat. Instead, he’d killed Zeltrax and stopped this attack and future ones.

Years ago, she might have tried to condemn him for abusing the power; for not trying to find another way. But the reality of the world had made both of them wiser. Sometimes you had to make the hard choices. If he hadn’t done what he had, maybe Zeltrax could have beaten him, and then crushed the other rangers, paving the path for Mesogog taking over. If he hadn’t made that agonizing decision to use deadly force to stop Zeltrax then, one of the team could have been killed.

It was a brutal thought… and Kim wondered for what probably was the millionth time since she had met Zordon and been offered the ranger powers if the main reason that teenagers were rangers was because they could still see the limitless possibilities that older, more world-weary men and women couldn’t see any longer.

Still…

“You killed him? You’re sure?” Kim asked finally.

“I… I just barely made it out of his ship before it blew up. I had really hurt him badly. I can’t see how he could have survived,” stated Tommy darkly.

“Then you need to make peace with it.”

“How?” he nearly cried, the weight of what he’d done crashing down on him fully. “I *killed* him Kim. I didn’t stop. I finally let myself be as evil as I ever was when I was under Rita’s power. I didn’t back off, I didn’t try more than once to bring him back to his old self. I cold bloodedly murdered him!”

“No! You aren’t capable of that,” Kim yelled, and Tommy cringed slightly on his end of the line. “You told me yourself that you tried to get Smitty back, several times before this confrontation. And all of them were unsuccessful. There was a moment when you had to make a choice handsome. And you made the only one you could.”

“But…”

“Tommy, don’t. Did you not just say that Kira and Ethan were unmorphed?”

“Yes.”

“And that Conner was on his own against Zeltrax’s monster?”

“Yeah.”

“And you realized that you needed to stop Zeltrax to protect them, make sure that they could win. You tried to stop Zeltrax, and when he pushed you, refusing to stand down, you killed him,” Kim stated, using his own words to paint the picture of what had happened for him.

“I couldn’t think of another way to stop him. We’ve just been going around in circles for months now. We battle, we do damage and he retreats to come back. I just couldn’t let him do that again with everything…” Tommy murmured, starting to understand what Kim was implying.

“You did what you had to. You protected the team. You were a leader and made the tough decision.”

“But I don’t know how I deal with this Kim. Someone’s dead because of me. And I wasn’t evil at the time. I was me.”

“Did Zeltrax back down? Did Smitty break free of whatever Mesogog did to him before you killed him? Did he not escalate the fight as well?” Kim questioned rapid fire at him, forcing him to reflect on what had happened.

“No, but…”

“He was the bad guy Tommy. You did what you had to do. If he had attacked the kids outright, and you had to choose to kill him or lose one of them…”

As Kim trailed her thought off, Tommy had to ponder. No, if Zeltrax had directly attacked the team, and there was a thought that if he didn’t kill him that he’d kill one of the team, he wouldn’t have hesitated in killing him. But what Kim was suggesting was this was the same…

“It’s not the same,” Tommy argued, though less fiercely than he had fought before.

“It is. There was no guarantee that Conner could defeat Zeltrax’s machine. You had to make sure that they were able to not only survive but to win. And that’s what you did by stopping Zeltrax. I know you’re not proud of the decision you made, but you have to know that I respect you for making it.”

“I…” began Tommy, finding himself unable to gather his thoughts. If Kim understood why he did it, didn’t think him weak for not being able to find another way, maybe he hadn’t crossed the line. “Thank you Beautiful.”

“You’re welcome.”

“So, any news on…” he started to say when a herd of elephants pounded up the stairs and through the trap door in the kitchen. He turned to watch Trent, Conner, Ethan and Kira all pour through the opening in the floor.

“Dr. O it was so cool, Kira was great!” enthused Trent, not noticing Tommy on the phone.

The others recognized the halted pacing behavior, and noted the phone stuck to his ear. Conner and Ethan glanced at each other with a knowing look and Kira rushed forward, placing a hand on Tommy’s arm.

“Is that Kim?” Kira asked quietly, excitement in her voice.

Tommy nodded, and she gave him a pitiful look. Behind her, Trent looked confused while Conner and Ethan rolled their eyes.

“Can I talk to her?”

“Kim, Kira’s here and wants to talk to you…” Tommy said, and Kim smiled on her end.

“Put her on.”

With that, Tommy reluctantly handed the phone to Kira. As Kira stepped away, he noted Trent looking at him strangely, and headed over to stand with the men as Kira spoke with Kim.

“Kim, hey! I am so glad to talk to you. How is Boston? I have such cool news to tell you,” Kira said rapid fire, not even breaking to breathe.

“Hi Kira. Things are good. So, what’s so important that you broke in and stole the phone from Tommy?” Kim asked, smiling at her young friend’s enthusiasm.

“I recorded a music video. It was great!”

“That’s wonderful. Is it good? Do I have to wait for it to air on MTV or are you going to send me a copy?”

As Kira explained to Kim how they’d shot the video, with the team’s help of course, Tommy continued to note Trent’s gaze on him. Finally, he decided to ask what the problem was.

“Trent, is there something on you mind?”

“Who’s Kim? And how does Kira know her?” Trent questioned, and everyone realized just how out of the loop Trent was.

“Kim is Dr. O’s girlfriend,” Conner explained simply, bringing a frown to Tommy’s face.

“And she’s the original pink ranger too. They used to be an item back in the day, and now they’re together again,” added Ethan.

“Whoa, wait a minute… I’m lost. She’s a former ranger? And she and Dr. O are dating? You guys need to fill me in,” Trent told Ethan and Conner.

“Guys,” Tommy warned in a tone that said he really wasn’t happy with the turn of events, but knew he had little control over the situation.

“Don’t worry Dr. O, we’ll be good,” Ethan promised as he and Conner led Trent to the couch to dish the ranger romance dirt.

Tommy turned back to where Kira was leaning against the wall, talking to Kim. He hadn’t been listening to her end of the conversation, but her sudden change in posture made him focus on what she was saying, and wondered what Kim was telling her.

“Kira, I know you’re talented, and I’m glad the second video was a better experience for you, but I want you to remember something very important,” Kim said, her voice full of significance.

“What’s that?” Kira asked, looking up to see Dr. O watching her with a concerned look on his face.

“That sometimes the dream we have isn’t quite what we thought it was. Be careful that you don’t loose what you have now in pursuit of it.”

“Like you did?” Kira asked quietly, understanding what Kim was suggesting.

“Sort of. But I got lucky. I got back some of what I lost.”

“So I noticed. Speaking of which, Dr. O is staring a hole into me, so I will talk to you later, and send you a copy of the video when it’s done.”

With that, Kira held the phone out to Tommy, and he gave her a half smile and quickly grabbed the phone. He watched as Kira went and sat by Conner and joined the conversation about his love life and sighed.

“So, you and Kira have a good chat?” he asked.

“Yeah. She’s really hoping that the moron from the record company will like the new video.”

“Did she tell you about her other video?”

“Yeah,” Kim laughed, and then quickly smothered it. “I told her that she should be very glad that at least Conner cares enough about her to tell her the truth.”

“Hey! We wanted to spare her feelings.”

“You just didn’t want her to yell at you. I know how you are Thomas Oliver. You can face down evil monsters and travel through space and time without blinking, but having a slip of a girl tell you off terrifies you.”

“Well, I spent a lot of years in fear of you, so…”

Kim giggled, remembering one of the more choice moments of their teen dating days when she’d chewed him out for getting them caught in the rain with his jeep’s soft top packed in his parent’s garage.

“Still, you need to be honest. With all of them. That’s what keeps you a team, remember?”

“I do.”

“Anyway, it’s late. I should let you go, and I’ll talk to you tomorrow?”

“Okay Kim. Love you.”

“I love you too. Night.”

Once the words were out, she hung up the phone, and Tommy hung up as well. It was then that he knew he didn’t have a buffer between him and the questions that he was sure were coming. But as he looked at the young faces before him, he realized that there weren’t any immediately coming.

Then he saw the looks from one to another, and realized it was a momentary reprieve.

“Well Dr. O. we came over to tell you about Kira’s video, but…” Ethan began, and his eyebrows rose a bit in implication.

“We think you’ve had a busy enough day. So we’re just gonna go and talk to you later,” added Conner, getting up from the couch and reaching over to haul Trent up.

“Yeah. And we’ll get Hayley out of here too,” Trent stated, as they all started towards the trap door.

The guys were halfway down when Kira stopped and spun around to look at their mentor and teacher.

“I’ll bring you a copy of the video too Dr. O,” Kira said simply, with a sly smile. “I think you’ll really appreciate it.”

With that, she hurried down into the kitchen, leaving Dr. O standing in the living room, his mind now turning back to Zeltrax and Kim.

He hoped that Kim really was right… that he had made the right decision and that his soul wasn’t damned by his destroying the thing that had once been his friend.

Still, he had done what he had to do to protect the team, protect the world and, in the long run, make sure that what mattered most to him was safe… Kim.

And at the end of the day, he could live with that.


	27. News at Eleven

Tommy turned off the TV after seeing Cassidy’s broadcast. It wasn’t bad, considering everything.

Catching the news was actually part of his habit; maybe he could call it a ritual… The team would fight with Mesogog’s goons and then beat the monster. They’d all then come back to the basement command center and debriefing, and then he’d send them home afterwards. Then he’d climb the stairs and watch some TV, eat some dinner and call Kim.

It wasn’t a bad way to spend a day by his standards.

Without a second thought, he got up and headed to the kitchen. Prying the stubborn refrigerator door open, he pulled out a container of refrigerated leftovers and heated them up. Eating was mechanical, he didn’t even sit down as he leaned against the counter and stuck the fork into the microwave container, into his mouth and back again. In truth, his attention to meals alone had never been high on his priority list, and it had been that way for probably the last seven years. It was only when Kim was there that he actually cared. It was lucky for him that her being there everyday was going to happen soon. Then he might actually eat decent meals.

Tossing the empty container in the sink for a light wash before making its way to the dishwasher, he headed back to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of the latest six-pack of MGD he’d bought. Usually it was a way to unwind from a long day. Instead, today he put it back and pulled out a pitcher of iced tea, and then went hunting for a clean glass.

Iced tea in hand, he headed back out to the living room, picking up the phone on his way. The number was indelibly etched into his memory now, which made it just like every other thing about Kimberly… a part of him.

It took a few seconds for him to dial the number, but when it started to ring, he settled on the couch and stuck his feet up on the coffee table, taking a sip of the tea.

“Hello?” said Kim from her end of the line and the country.

“Hey Kim,” he said, setting the glass down on the table before him.

“Tommy, hey! How are you? How’s the team?”

“Good. Missing you, but that’s not news, is it?”

Kim smiled on her end of the line, settling on her own couch as she let herself enjoy their regular phone call and get their fix of one another before she could be there in person.

“Nope. Especially when I’m feeling the same way.”

Tommy smiled and reached for the tea glass. He took a swallow and continued the conversation. Kim always seemed to leave him parched…

“So the team’s okay. They’re still getting used to having Trent with them, and Conner with his Triassic powers. Although Hayley did figure out a way to keep Kira and Ethan morphed when they share power with Conner to give him the Triassic power.”

“You know, it’s never easy dealing with new powers, is it? I mean, how many did we go through before I left for Florida… three maybe? And each time it was all about adjusting to them.”

“It could have been worse. Ethan and Kira could have lost their powers for good when Conner got the shield,” Tommy remarked coolly, remembering his own losses.

“Not only would you not let that happen, but I don’t think Conner would leave his team mates out in the cold like that,” Kim quickly mentioned, knowing that Tommy would never put someone through what he’d been through himself.

“True… Conner, Ethan and Kira are really tight. Just like the original team was before I joined.”

“And you know you ended up blending with us in a matter of weeks Tommy. Don’t be melodramatic. And Trent will get comfortable with the team too. He was on the other side for a lot longer than you were,” she reminded him, “but you’ve said they’re making progress already.”

“Yeah, though Trent still hasn’t been too open with me, Kira or the others. Its funny, he seems like there’s something still holding him back. I don’t know…” he said, letting his unformed thoughts trail off.

“He’ll come around in his own time. But how are *you* doing… really? Any nightmares?”

He had to stop and think about what she was asking. Ever since Zeltrax, he’d been wrestling with his subconscious, and his sleeping patterns had been blown to smithereens. He was glad school wasn’t in session, or he’d be sleepwalking at six a.m. to get to class.

“Nothing that you here and sleeping with me won’t sure,” he fired off nonchalantly.

“Please, you can’t fool me. I told you that it wasn’t your fault. You have to believe that and let it go.”

“I just wonder if there was something else I could have done…”

Kim sighed on her end and wished she was there. This was just the kind of behavior she was expecting from him. The Oliver guilt complex was her biggest enemy in keeping Tommy focused. But it was part of what made him a good leader and a kind man… things that made him the man she loved.

“Maybe, maybe not. But you did what you did, and now it’s time to move on. How about you tell me about your recent battle? I know there had to be one… you have this habit of calling me afterwards.”

“How did you…”

“It’s me Tommy. I *know* you.”

He smiled, realizing again just how true that was.

“I know you do Beautiful. Anyway, Kira helped Cassidy, the journalism girl from the high school get a job at the TV station as a reporter.”

“How did that happen? I got the impression from Kira, Conner and Ethan that Cassidy was a stuck up bitch?”

“I have no idea. All I know is that Ethan and Kira have been being nice to her recently. Maybe they finally took pity on her and thought they’d try being nice.”

“Being nice to Bulk and Skull only ended up causing us more headaches in the long run,” Kim mused, remembering the pair of troublemakers that had caused her more than a few embarrassments in high school in their hunt for the power rangers.

“Bulk and Skull were their own problem. Cassidy seems… misguided. And the ego the girl has needs a reality check,” he joked.

“So, what’s she doing at the station?”

“They gave her a reporting assignment: a petting zoo opening…” he started, and Kim laughed.

“Oh boy, from what I’ve heard from the kids, her having to walk though animals and their crap was probably on the top of her list.”

“Well, she ended up getting an exclusive…”

Kim fell silent, and her heart pounded in her chest. She couldn’t have gotten the ranger’s identities, or Tommy wouldn’t be so relaxed.

“What was it?”

“She caught some battle footage of the team taking on the Jupitor monster at the station. It was pretty well shot, and the station was pretty happy with it. They aired it and she got some face time, introducing the footage. She actually did pretty well.”

“Wow… Cassidy’s a reporter now, and it sounds like she’s pretty famous with an exclusive like that. You guys just seem to have more fun that we ever did. I mean, starlets, pop stars, news personalities… what’s next, Nobel scientists?” Kim asked humorously.

“Unless Billy or Hayley win it within the next few months, no, I doubt that. But I still would rather the simple bad guys like King Mondo or Rita from the old days.”

“Speaking of the old days, I got an e-mail from Adam. He says that he’s really glad he took that job in San Francisco, even if Rocky and Tanya were sad to see him go. I guess that the studio’s bookings have increased by ten percent since he got there.”

“I got an e-mail about that from him too… wonder why he e-mailed us separately,” Tommy mused, then remembered Adam’s post-script about whether or not he’d made any decisions about his and Kim’s future.

“Who knows. Maybe he forgot to copy you along with everyone else.”

“Probably. Any news from Zack?”

“He decided to stay put in Vegas. Said the money was too good there, and that the RENT gig was too short a run. Besides, he’s talking like he might be able to get a small business loan soon to open up his studio.”

“Wow. Between him and Aisha with the clinic, we have some impressive friends.”

“Oh yeah, says the man with the PhD,” complained Kim with a laugh.

“I got really lucky. If Hayley hadn’t been there to keep me on track…” began Tommy, before he trailed off, wondering how that sounded to Kim.

Tommy knew that he had never spoken to Kim about his friendship with Hayley. Sure, he’d said that she was instrumental in creating the dino technology, but the issue was the past, not the present. He wouldn’t be surprised at all if Kim thought he and Hayley had… but they hadn’t. Still, from the reports from the team about Kim and Hayley’s first meeting while he’d been encased in that amber prison, there was some intense conflict between the two.

And his reminding Kim of his friendship with Hayley probably didn’t help matters much.

“Kim?”

“It is good that she was there,” Kim said finally, understanding her love’s concern. “And I don’t begrudge her the time she spent with you when I wasn’t around. She’d your friend. I’m not threatened. Or at least not anymore since I heard about her and Billy.”

“Which I understand is going to heat up again once Billy gets another chance to take some time off from his duties on Aquitar and come to visit. Supposedly he’s going to get a hotel, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Hayley offers up her spare bedroom,” Tommy suggested.

“Just like you’d offer me your spare bedroom, I assume?”

“I don’t have one.”

“Sure you do… I saw it,” Kim argued.

“NO, I mean for you, there is NO spare room. The only place you’re sleeping is in *our* bed.”

On her end, Kim couldn’t help but smile and shake her head. Since she and Tommy had put their relationship back on track after so long, he’d become as possessive and jealous as he ever had been, if not worse.

Not that she really was complaining.

“I guess that means when we get into a fight, you’ll be sleeping on the couch,” she laughed, imaging years of her and Tommy together… and the realities of a relationship.

“No way. No only do I not fit on the couch, my mother taught me never to go to sleep angry,” he stated seriously.

“Oh boy, I see lots of long nights in our future.”

“I don’t plan on us fighting very often Kim, but I have to say that I like the sound of that… *our* future.”

“Me too.”

“Just about three weeks or so now,” Tommy reminded her.

“I know. I have to start making plans about the apartment.”

“You’re still shipping your things out here, right?”

“It seems the best idea,” Kim admitted. “I have to find a shipping company though. I asked around and have a few recommendations.”

The sound of a familiar chime from his wrist interrupted him before he could say anything else.

“Kim…” he started with a sigh.

“I know, duty calls. I understand. I love you and I’ll talk to you soon.”

“I love you too.”

With that, Tommy hung up, dropping the phone on the couch as he headed downstairs to see what the situation was, his mind trying to focus on Mesogog and bad guys rather than the woman who was his life.


	28. Grabbing the Bronze Ring

God, I hate packing.

I’ve spent the last three days doing it, and finally I’m down to the last box. As I look around my apartment, I wonder how I could have emptied it so fast. Perhaps I had pathetically too few things that I really wanted to keep and ship, or maybe I realized that I’m starting over in a way.

I’ve sold the furniture and have been sleeping on an air mattress. Selling the couch was probably the hardest. All I could see was Tommy and I sitting there, and him telling me that he still loved me after all the time that had passed. I loved that couch for the last year and a half because of that. I think I fell asleep on it more than I should have, and I made a point to sit on my side, even though he wasn’t there. Luckily the young woman who was starting off new in her first apartment didn’t mind the still slightly visible stains of mud and blood that Tommy left there.

And actually, I was happy to sell the bed. I never shared it with anyone… it was my ‘single’ bed. Now I know there’s a queen sized bed to share on the other side if the country waiting for me. And if the days and nights I’ve already spent in it is any indication, I’ll love every day, year, decade that we’ll have together in it.

The computer was donated to a non-profit yesterday, after I got a really good deal for my taxes next year. I cleaned all my personal stuff off it… I have to thank all the computer know-how I got from Billy’s for that. Still, it cuts off all my electronic contact. I had to send everyone an e-mail before I handed it over, letting them know that until I get to Reefside that I’m out of pocket, or whatever the term is.

I packed the kitchen appliances, dishes and silverware. I know Tommy has this stuff, but you can never have too many plates or glasses. I can imagine him right now, hunting through the cabinets, looking for one clean glass, because he hasn’t thought to do dishes for the last week while Mesogog and his cronies keep his mind on battles and teamwork.

Towels, linens, clothes… everything is packed.

So here it is, my life in boxes. Boxes that I’m sending to Reefside to Tommy and *our* house. At least it will ‘technically’ be ours once I get off the plane in Reefside. The shipping company is picking them all up on Wednesday, and with the ground delivery, which was the cheapest; they should arrive well after I’ve arrived in Greece. And that means they won’t be cluttering up the place too long before I can get there and start unpacking.

Before me sits the last box… it’s the one with the most valuable things I own, the ones that I would just cry if I lost. I’d take them to Athens with me, if I already didn’t have a suitcase and duffle bag full of clothes that I need to have for the next three weeks.

As I begin to put the items into the cardboard box one by one, I find myself reminiscing about days gone by and my future…

First to start to go in is my photo album from my younger years… in Angel Grove.

It makes a stop on my lap before it goes in the box and I open it to see candid pictures of my friends. I smile with regret as I note a snapshot of Trini pummeling Jason for something with Zack looking on. I miss her. She’d be so happy that Tommy and I are back together.

Another shows Tommy and I at the spring dance after he first asked me out. It’s a favorite of mine, and I can see in our body language the deep love that we have now just starting to appear.

I remember thinking that I’d like to get the picture framed and give him a copy, but I never seemed to get around to it. Maybe after I get to Reefside I can finally frame it, and we can put it on the nightstand… a reminder of how we got to where we are now.

I flip the page and find one of the group before Jason, Zack and Trini left for Switzerland. When they made that decision, I remember telling Tommy that I couldn’t bear it if he was to leave too. I think that was the first time I realized just how much a part of me he was.

How much a part of me he is.

And now we’re going to be together.

I have to admit, I’m still nervous about this. A lot of water has gone under the bridge since we were teenagers and loved one another without reservation. Now we’re adults, with responsibilities, bills and baggage. 

But I’ve made the decision finally. No more putting off making this work. We love each other, and I don’t think I know how to be without him anymore.

Turning back to the book, I find a photo of Adam, Rocky and Tommy at a local martial arts competition. I have to say that Adam, Aisha and Rocky filled the void Jason, Trini and Zack left well. Hell, Aisha and I are as close as sisters. Close like Trini and I were… 

There are days I really wish both of them were here; Aisha closer to me and Trini still alive.

A shot of me at a regional meet on the floor exercise reminds me of two things, one a memory that still aches and the other a future promise…

The memory is that of how I ended up on this path, and alone for so much of it. There are days, even now that I hate myself for letting my mom, Coach Schmidt and the team convince me to go to Florida. I threw away my responsibility to be a ranger, be a good friend, be my love’s companion when I accepted Coach Schmidt’s offer. And now, on the eve of leaving for the Olympics, as a coach and not an athlete, I question my decision again.

I lost so much by going. I lost all the years I could have with Tommy, hurt both of us and estranged the friendship we had to begin with before we fell in love.

Well, if I’m really honest, I’m pretty sure I fell in love with him at first sight, but it was deepened by the months of friendship, tempered by being teammates. 

I let my fears and my emotions get the better of me, and I made a mistake. One both of us paid for until we talked after Trini’s funeral.

Now we have a future… one that, if everything goes right will include a teaching job when I get to Reefside. I have yet to hear back about the instructor position at Reefside’s Gymnastics Academy. Although once the games are over, I wouldn’t be surprised if my resume gets a closer look. Depending on how the team does, I wouldn’t be surprised if I have a few offers before I leave Greece. But it won’t matter. I’m not going anywhere that isn’t a simple hour commute from Reefside.

I made the decision this time to make our relationship my first priority, when for the last two and a half years, it’s been our jobs that came first. I’m willing to do whatever I have to, take whatever job I can get to support my choice. So if I don’t get this job, I’ll find something else. And of course, after I show up in Reefside I’ll have an easier time of job hunting. 

My photo album stops right about the time I got to Florida. I remember a few months after I sent Tommy the letter and Chris and I were dating I packed it away and started a new one for my new life. Unfortunately I never really filled it much. While I’ve had work friends, I never had friends that weren’t from Angel Grove… I saw Aisha, Trini and Jason more often than I went out for a night on the town with the women coaches I worked with.

All in all, my life without Tommy has been empty in so many ways. Why the hell would I not be willing to drop everything and go to him? 

A framed photo of the Women’s Olympic Gymnastics team that I just got two days ago reminds me of the reason.

These girls are so damned good. They have their whole lives ahead of them, and they have the chance to win an Olympic medal. And I have the responsibility and honor of helping them get there. 

In the grand scheme of things, what I do for them is so much more important than what I do for myself.

That was what Tommy meant when he insisted I come back to Boston. He knew that I could stay there and we’d be happy. But I would have missed the chance to be there for them. To see them succeed where I failed.

And in doing so, I succeed with them.

I can’t help the silent laughter that fills my mind. There are times when I think I know Tommy better than he does, yet in fact, it is he who knows me better than I know myself.

Next I spy a medal from competing at a regional meet in Angel Grove. The first prize overall. I remember working hard for it. It was right before Zordon offered us the first ranger powers. I was so overwhelmed by the award, the ‘gold’ medal I’d been awarded for my skill.

Yet I ended up turning away from those kinds of meets to make more time for school, Tommy, my friends and being a ranger.

And I never regretted it.

But now I’m ready to make another transition in my life. I made one when I became a ranger. I made another when I chose to try and win a gold medal in the Pan Global games. Now I’m making the biggest choice of my life… I’m going after a different type of metal – the brass ring.

Although in my case, maybe it should be the bronze…

But the truth is that *this* is everything I have always wanted. Olympics dreams and Pan Global trials were just fantasies, fairy tales that a girl tells herself in the lines of being a brave nurse helping sick people and being a police officer and stopping bad guys. Real life is working in a fast food restaurant, being a secretary or a gymnastics coach.

Real life does also have rewards, and I’m getting mine when I step into Tommy’s arms and know I never have to leave them again. That will be the true prize.

Being with the one man whom I have always loved and always will love.

I decide that it’s time to focus on the packing and less on the reminiscing and start to shovel things into the box: stuffed animals, certificates, trinkets and jewelry. All things that made me who I am today. Made me into the woman that Thomas James Oliver wants in his life. And I will always cherish these things for that alone.

As I put the lid on the box, I take the packing tape and seal it shut. Affixing the label, I stand and survey my life again… packed and ready to resume again in Reefside.

Where I belong.

With him.


	29. Luck of the Rangers

Before they knew it, it was closing time at the Cyberspace.

“Alright everybody, time to head home, or wherever you’re going, because it can’t be here anymore,” Hayley announced, and people started for the door. “Ethan, Conner, Kira, can you guys do the closing rounds?”

As teenagers picked up and headed out, Ethan checked that all the computers were shut off, Kira cleaned up the area around the stage and Conner picked up around the sofa. Behind the counter, Hayley was cleaning up behind the counter. When she’d made the final trash run, she headed for the door to lock up when she found a pair of visitors that she let in instead of turning away – Trent and Tommy.

“Hey you two. What brings you by?” asked Hayley, locking the door behind them.

“Just thought we’d come by and socialize. It was a long day,” remarked Tommy, heading through the second set of doors into the café.

“And while today is my day off, I thought I’d come by and see if you needed any help closing,” offered Trent, and Hayley patted him on the shoulder with a friendly smile. The normal Trent was a lot more considerate than his previously evil counterpart.

“Hey Dr. O,” called Conner as he plopped down on the red velvet sofa that usually faced the TV, but now faced a few of the armchairs that had been set up for a poetry reading session. 

“Hey there yourself Conner. So, you guys helped clean up?”

“Yeah… it was closing time and Hayley asked us to help, so…” Conner remarked as Tommy took a seat in one of the armchairs across from him.

“That was nice of you guys,” Trent said as he pulled the blinds to the front window, closing off the space from the walkway. When that was done, he headed for the opposite armchair, but changed his mind, choosing to pull up a chair, turning it around to sit facing its back.

As he placed it, Tommy noted that he had set himself apart slightly, and he wondered if the young man would ever fully feel at home with the rangers. As the others finished their tasks and headed towards the sofa, he watched his team, his students with a keen eye. 

They were good, and they worked well as a team. But there were times when one of the team’s situation forced the entire team to deal with them. Like Ethan’s curse had.

“Dr. O, you’re not coming to tell me that you found out that the curse really isn’t broken, are you? I mean, I can’t really deal with more bad stuff,” Ethan asked, concerned as he took his spot at the opposite end of the couch from Conner.

“No, we’re pretty sure that you successfully broke the curse. There shouldn’t be anything else you need to do,” Tommy said simply.

“That’s great! I mean, you really were a wreck dude,” joked Conner, reaching across the sofa and poking the African-American youth in the ribs.

“Cut it out!”

Kira sighed and sat between them, effectively creating a break between the two. Looking from one to the other, she tried to decide if she wanted to try and smack some sense into them or just leave them to their immature behavior.

“Dr. O, do rangers always have such crappy luck?” Trent asked as Hayley finally came over, settling in the other armchair and joined the conversation.

“From what I’ve heard, it’s pretty much a tradition,” commented Hayley.

“Don’t start,” Tommy said, looking his co-creator of the ranger technology, and then focused his answer to Trent. “For whatever bad luck you have, there’s an equal amount of good luck.”

From the stares that Tommy ended up getting from the rest of the team, he had no doubt that they expected him to explain. And he really couldn’t blame them. The history of the power rangers seemed to repeat, just like that famous quote… And besides Kim and the occasional visit from his former ranger friends, he was their link to what being a ranger was like. 

But every ranger had a different regret… a different bad piece of luck. Just like they had something good that was just impossible to believe could happen to them that made the bad worth while.

“It’s all relative,” Tommy began, tapping his fingers on the arms of the chair. “I mean, we all had things sort of like the curse happen. I remember this one time Kim had this really bad day… but overall, we sort of end up having a really bad thing happen to us, which gets balanced out by a really good thing.”

“How do you mean?” Kira asked.

“Well, for someone like Jason, the worst was probably something like his nearly dying from the gold ranger powers. Or maybe not being able to get the green candle that stole my first ranger powers so long ago. But on the flip side of that, he had the chance… a unique chance to go to the International Peace Conference as a delegate. That’s something that’s just so rare and so special an experience, maybe it all evens out.”

“Wow… all the rangers really had something like that… a really cool thing and an equally nasty thing happen to them?” Conner asked.

“I think it’s safe for me to quote Jason when he used to say that rangers needed luck to do what they did. Unfortunately, you can’t have good luck without bad,” replied Tommy with a half-smile.

Ethan slightly frowned, and then nodded his head, thinking about that. He had so much… the curse really hadn’t been much in the scheme of things. He had insurance for his laptop, so he was getting that repaired, his mom had ended up getting a ride from one of her co-workers, he’d never really liked that shirt anyway, so when he’d chosen to trash it, it wasn’t a big loss, and he had gotten the hover bike…

“You’re right. I mean, I have had such great luck… I mean to have my friendship with all you guys, and Cassidy too, I think what I went through with the Tutenhawken’s curse was well worth it,” Ethan stated, looking at the others around him.

“True… I mean, I would never have appreciated the music deal if we hadn’t gone through all that hell with Trent… no offense,” commented Kira, looking up to where Trent sat.

“None taken,” Trent remarked, even though he shifted in his chair slightly, as if he was uncomfortable. “I feel the same. You guys were there for me after I was able to break the evil spell of the white gem. You accepted me, took me into the team. And I think that evens out the guilt I still feel for when I was evil.”

Everyone looked for Trent to Tommy, noting the look on his face. It was one of understanding, and he nodded as Trent finished. The shared experience was something they and only they could really understand, and there still seemed to be a long way to go for Trent…

“What about you Dr. O?” asked Kira with a knowing grin, “or do we even have to guess?”

There was a round of laughter and Tommy gave them all a deadly stare. It was not easy with them knowing what seemed like everything about him and his life. Especially his love life. Still, the very little ribbing he got from them, coupled with the fact that they all genuinely cared about and liked Kim seemed to cut him some slack. Which in his mind was good, since they’d have to deal with him and Kim together and married soon, if he could get her to say yes…

“In a way, you probably do know… but part of me is shocked at how lucky I was to get a chance to get my PhD. It was something I didn’t do with ranger powers, but on my own.”

“With help,” Hayley reminded him smugly, and Tommy was tempted to throw the accent pillow behind him at her.

“With help. But to answer your question, yeah, I’ve been luckier than I deserve. I have had more second chances… with being a ranger, with Kim… and on the other side, I don’t know how I was so unlucky as to have been picked by Rita Repulsa to be the evil green ranger.”

“You know, I have to say that I had my worst and best luck on the same thing,” stated Conner, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees.

“Which was?” Ethan asked, curious

“Becoming a ranger.”

That pronouncement brought everyone up short. Some of them knew of his unease at being chosen, the others did not. Tommy looked over at the red ranger, and met his gaze. The younger man smiled though and Tommy nodded.

“Have you gotten over it?” Trent questioned, curious.

“Yeah… I mean, I can’t do some things I wanted to do, but what I got in the tradeoff is just… wow.”

“What about you Hayley?” Kira questioned, deciding to include the technology wizard.

“I’m not a ranger.”

“So? You still have to have a best and worst luck story,” claimed Ethan.

She pondered answering, and then finally sighed.

“It was actually like Conner’s… it was the same thing.”

“And…” Kira prompted, looking anxious.

“It was meeting Tommy.”

That froze everyone in place. The question running through everyone’s mind was why, and Trent wasn’t shy in asking.

“Why?”

Hayley shifted in her chair, looking uncomfortable. Tommy pinned her with his gaze, and Hayley avoided it. Still, she was over the real reasons why she was uncomfortable about her choice. Still, she should say something. Sigh a sigh, she looked up and glanced at everyone before settling on Trent.

“I was this excessively bright woman, and here’s this really gorgeous guy. Yet he’s still in love with his ex. So any thought I might have had at starting something was gone in like seconds. Yet at the same time, he opened this opportunity… to work on the most cutting edge weapons and vehicles… who wouldn’t take that?”

Kira, Conner, Trent and Ethan all looked from Hayley to Tommy. He frowned slightly, upset that he’d never really noticed that Hayley was an attractive woman who spent a lot of time with him… he should have seen it. But like he’d told Kim more than a few times in the last eight years, he was dense that way. 

“I’m really sorry Hayley,” he said, feeling somewhat guilty.

“Don’t be. Besides, Billy’s in my life now… so hey, I got a ranger after all,” she smirked, and the others started laughing.

“Speaking of other rangers Dr. O, any word from Kim? She left for the Olympics already, right?” Kira questioned.

“She said she’d be busy and she’d call when things got settled.”

“When was that?” asked Conner, frowning.

“A few days ago…”

“And she hasn’t called?” Kira yelped, worried. “You think she’s okay?”

“Kira, she should be fine… I mean, she has nine girls between the ages of 16 and 28 that she’s having to help keep an eye on, practices and getting settled at an International sporting event. I’m sure it’s crazy and that she’ll call when she can.”

They all nodded, and Hayley looked at her watch, and swore.

“I have an appointment I’m late for. Come on, let’s send you all off.”

With that, they got up and headed for the door. Kira nudged Conner and looked to Ethan.

“Guess his bad luck was good luck after all.”

Everyone laughed as they all left the building, realizing that being a ranger really did mean you had to have luck.


	30. Games People Play

The flight from Boston had been long, and Kim had spent half of it trying to keep the nine young women preparing for the Olympics calm as they hit turbulence and as their nerves got the better of them. It was a long flight, and somehow she did find some time to sleep. The movie had been boring, and she’d ended up reading the several months out of date magazine.

When the plane finally landed, it was then another whole new adventure. Gathering luggage and going through customs with teens and twenty-somethings was like running an obstacle course. Then it was packing everyone into a caravan of vans to shuttle them from the airport to the Olympic Village. There were lots of oohs and ahhs as they drove along the roads. For most of them, this was their first trip to Greece, and in some cases their first trip outside the U.S. 

When the vans pulled up after passing security, they were driven to the blue and white apartment style housing that they’d make their home for the next two and a half weeks. Grabbing their luggage, they found themselves met by Olympic personnel and directed to their building, floor and room. 

It was only once they’d packed their clothes and other personal items away that they realized that they had more time to get settled in than just a few hours. In fact, they had a whole two days of nothing but getting familiarized with the Olympic venues so they could move around easily. Or as easily as they could, what with the tight security measures. As it was, it took the team almost three hours to get their security clearances and badges. Kim began to realize just how enormous this all was as the team walked across the grand venue of the village, took a shuttle to the site of the gymnastics competition, and then finally stared at the impressive mass of the Olympic Stadium.

It was a little overwhelming, and she had to remind herself to put it all in perspective. She’d been a ranger for God’s sake, the Olympics weren’t anything in comparison to what she’d done. Still, she couldn’t help but be awed at the fact she was there.

Early on the third day since their arrival, the team was scheduled to do their first international press conference with their male counterparts. As soon as everyone was dressed in their team USA sweat suits, they made their way to the press pavilion. There, they trooped in, the gymnasts sitting in the prescribed seats, the head coaches in the front, and the assistants lined the walls. Kim, in her position as an assistant ended up along the edge of the wall, closer to the edge. As the international press began asking their questions and taking pictures, Kim watched the whole thing, taking it in with a surreal feel.

Then her whole existence came to a sudden halt.

When Kim had heard that the Olympics were a once in a lifetime experience, she never thought that this was what they meant. Standing along the edges of the press room where the U.S. Men’s and Women’s Gymnastics teams were answering questions, she saw a face she never thought she'd see again.

Chris Masters.

The man she'd left Tommy for.

She found herself staring at him, her mind numb with shock as she noted him glance around the room. When his gaze reached her, his eyes widened and he stared back. She noted with some small part of her functioning brain that his blue-green eyes still reminded her of the ocean, and she recalled thinking back when they first met how they were so different from Tommy’s warm chocolate brown eyes. Suddenly she realized that the interviews were over, and people were moving around the room, photographers and reporters hurrying to get a one on one with the stars of the team or the head coaches. 

In that chaos, Kim watched Chris weave his way through the crowds and approach her. Part of her wanted to run, not really wanting to deal with this person, the guilty feelings at leaving Tommy for him fighting with the nostalgic fondness of not only their time together but at a familiar face thousands of miles away from everything she knew.

“Kimberly,” Chris drawled as he finally reached her, his old Southern accent having stayed with him even after traveling the world, “what a surprise.”

“What are you doing here?” Kim asked, focusing on the man before her, fighting to keep her heart rate calm.

“The men’s team thought I’d add some extra prestige to the staff, and hired me as a rings coach.”

“You?”

“What? You think I just spent my time dating models and doing photo shoots? I got an education,” he retorted, almost insulted.

“I’m sorry. I just…” she stumbled, shaking her head in an attempt to clear it.

“Look Kim, I’m not looking to cause you problems. I mean, we dated but it didn’t work out. Can’t we be friends?”

“I guess…”

“How about we catch up? Have dinner after the practice for the opening ceremonies and talk about old times?” he asked brightly, reaching out to catch her hand in a way that reminded her of Tommy.

“I don’t know if that’s such a good idea…” Kim began.

“It’s just a friendly dinner Kim. Come on, you can’t tell me you’d rather sit in the athlete’s dorms every night?”

Kim hesitated, and Chris noticed her indecision and smiled at her with a grin she remembered from her lowest moments in Florida. After a long moment of debate, Kim finally nodded.

“Alright.”

“Great! It’s good to see you again Kim,” Chris said as he leaned over and gave her a light kiss on the cheek.

Little did she know that an Associated Press photographer had just taken their picture.

-

Tommy Oliver opened the newspaper at the command center console, his eyes drifting from the scanners to the news of the games. The front page had a small picture referring readers to the special Olympics section. Tossing the section away, he dug through the rest of the paper until he found the special section. Opening it, he found a large layout on the arrival of the U.S. teams to Athens, articles about the chances of different athletes and lots of pictures. He flipped through until he found a page showing the gymnastics teams and had an article and photos from their first press conference in Athens. As he scanned the photos, he found himself brought up short.

It was a picture of Kim at the press conference, with a man leaning towards her, as if to kiss her. His eyes tore from her face to the caption and his heart went cold.

Former Pan Global hopeful and current U.S. Women’s Olympic gymnastics balance beam assistant coach Kimberly Hart meets up with Pan Global and U.S. Olympic medalist, and current men’s rings coach Christopher Masters at a joint gymnasts press conference in Athens, Greece.

He felt his fingers go cold, the numbing sensation climbing up his arms.

It couldn’t be…

Kim was there with the guy she left him for.

Just the sight of this guy next to the woman he loved sent his blood boiling. Hadn’t the years that he and Kim had spent separated because of this man been enough. But now, just as things were looking like they were going to move past everything, when he was ready to ask her to marry him, here was Chris Masters, obviously moving in on Kim. And she wasn’t walking away.

The two of them had a history, but so did he and Kim. They’d spent the better part of two years rebuilding what had simmered since she’d broken up with him as teenagers. But they’d ended up together again. Unless Masters somehow got in their way…

“Hey Dr. O. What’s up?” asked Conner, striding into the basement command center with Kira following.

“Ooh, the paper. Is there any news on the Olympic team?” Kira asked as she noted the newspaper sports section in his hands.

“There’s some pictures…” Tommy bit out reluctantly, laying the paper down as his students and teammates moved beside him to look at the newspaper layout.

Both rangers froze in shock as they stared at the photo their teacher had been staring at.

“You’re kidding me!” Conner nearly yelled as he read the caption.

Tommy took a deep breath, closing his eyes and trying to focus. He knew Kim loved him. They’d said that every time they talked. Her clothes, linens and silverware were supposed to be in boxes on their way to his house to wait for her arrival. Nothing about the last year of their growing renewed relationship warranted the overwhelming fear that was filling him at the thought of this man stealing her from him.

But the evidence of another man interested in his woman wasn’t something he could take lightly. Especially since it was one Kim had a history with... a history of leaving him for.

He had decided that this time he wasn’t going to let her go. When he’d put her on the plane the first time after one of her visits, he’d promised himself that he’d do whatever it took to keep her, and he meant to do just that. But how was another matter. Kim was in Athens while he was here. There wasn’t anything he could do to keep Chris Masters away from Kim and assure himself that she was coming to Reefside for good.

Then the kids’ words reached through his musing, and he looked up to see Kira’s concerned face.

“This can’t be how it looks Dr. O,” Kira stated emphatically. “Remember Principal Randall?”

“I don’t know…” he answered them with his old uncertainty, and watched Kira and Conner’s faces darken.

“Then you need to find out,” Kira said forcefully.

“Kira’s right. You love Kim, right Dr. O?” Conner added quickly.

“Of course I do, what kind of question is that?” he replied angrily.

“Then get on a plane and go to her. And if nothing else, make sure this jerk knows Kim’s spoken for,” Kira stated, stabbing a finger at the picture of her friend and her ex.

“We’ll cover things here. Just go,” Conner assured their mentor.

It only took him another minute before he tossed the paper aside and nearly ran for the stairs. Luckily his passport was up to date…

-

Kimberly sat staring at the photo gracing the Olympics section of the USA Today the athletes and coaches were able to get at the community dining area at breakfast before the day started. There, clear as day was a picture of her and Chris, looking like they were just about to move into a heated clinch. They had practice with the team in less than an hour… not long enough to have a long conversation with Tommy, but she at least had to call him and tell him that she wasn’t ‘with’ Chris… and that she was looking forward to coming home to him in Reefside in two weeks.

“Guys, I have to hit the payphone. I’ll meet you at the facility as soon as I can.”

With that she got up from the table and headed quickly to one of the banks of phones. She pulled the international calling card and followed the instructions. The phone rang at Tommy’s house until the answering machine picked up.

“Tommy, I don’t know if you’re there and just not picking up, but I wanted to make sure you know I love you… I’ll call you later so we can talk.”

She hung up, feeling a gnawing in the pit of her stomach that the world as she knew it was about to be turned asunder.

-

Kim had been despondent most of the day since being unable to reach Tommy any of the times she’d called and had participated in the athletes and coaches practice for the opening ceremonies with frustration. She would have called Kira to find out where Tommy was, but she’d packed her address book in the last box she’d shipped to Tommy’s. When everyone started to file out of the stadium after the rehearsal had ended, Chris seemed to show up at her side from out of nowhere.

“So, how about that dinner?” Chris asked, reaching over to catch Kim by the arm.

“I’m not really the best company,” she stated, trying to deter his enthusiasm for going out that evening.

“Please? I just want the chance for us to catch up. Be friends again. Besides, you look like you could use some fun!”

He smiled at her, a disarming grin that had made her feel comfortable back when she’d been alone in Florida all those years ago. Finally she sighed and nodded. There was no use moping about. He was a friend, and right now, with everything she really could use one…

“I need to stop by my room first.”

“Sure. Anyhow, I got us a table at Mikrolimano,” he stated as they headed through the crowds and to the white and blue apartment style buildings in the residential section where the athletes and coaches were housed.

“Give me a minute,” Kim said, heading for her room. Inside, she reached for the phone again and dialed Tommy’s number.

There was still no answer. As she walked out, she passed Anton going the opposite direction.

“On your way back out Kim?”

“Yeah. I’m having dinner with an old friend at Mikrolimano…”

“Have fun.”

Kim tried not to laugh at Anton’s words. She wondered if she really could have fun while the worry of what Tommy might be thinking sat at the back of her mind. Still, she had Chris waiting on her, so she hurried out of the building to head off for dinner.

-

Tommy had done everything in his power to get the first flight to Athens… coach. When he walked off the plane, he quickly hurried to customs, which was prepared for the overflow of tourists there for the games. After passing through the lines, he followed the crowd to the buses and taxis. After searching around, he found the line for the buses heading to the Olympic venues, and got in line. The bus was slow as it made its way through several of the venues, dropping people off at different locales, but finally it arrived at the international area of the Olympic village.

He got off the bus and started for the gated area that lead to a series of apartment looking buildings that had people moving in and out of them wearing sweat suits with National flags on them, hinting at the athletes’ area. Walking up to the security booth, Tommy straightened his shoulders, doing his best to look like he belonged there.

“Excuse me, could you direct me to the building the U.S. women’s gymnastics team is in?” he asked.

The security guard looked at him, as if trying to see if he was a terrorist or something.

“Look, I can’t let you in that area,” the stocky guard said in accented English.

“Please. Maybe you could call someone for me… Kimberly Hart. She’s part of their coaching staff.”

Nodding grudgingly, the burly guard moved to his kiosk and dialed into the main operations center, and had his call routed to the dorms. After a few minutes of nervous waiting, he looked at Tommy with a stern expression.

“Sorry, no answer.”

“How about Anton Gregor? He’s the head coach.”

Sighing, the man went back to the phone and tried again. This time a shocked look crossed his face.

“Sir, I have someone here wanting access to the residential section. He doesn’t have any credentials though…” he told the person on the other end.

Tommy watched as the man seemed to listen to the person on the other end, and frowned.

“Excuse me, could I just…” Tommy asked, holding his hand out slightly.

Passing the receiver to Tommy, the guard moved out of the way somewhat, and Tommy pulled the phone to his ear.

“Coach Gregor?”

“Yes?” the man on the other end asked with a hint of confusion.

“I’m sorry, we haven’t met, but my name is Tommy Oliver and…” he began before Anton cut him off.

“Ah yes, I know who you are! Kim has mentioned you many times. But, she’s not in at the moment. Did she know you were coming?”

“No, I… you don’t suppose you know where she is?”

“She’s at dinner at Mikrolimano with a colleague of ours, I believe his name is Christopher Masters.”

Tommy felt his heart go cold. His Kim was having dinner with her ex? Maybe he wasn’t acting so crazy after all.

“Thank you. Good evening.”

With that, Tommy handed the phone to the guard and turned, starting to walk away when he realized he had no idea where the restaurant was. Quickly he swiveled and caught the guard’s attention again.

“I need to get to a restaurant called Mikrolimano. Do you know where it is?”

“It’s not in the village. There are taxis about three blocks down. They’ll get you there.”

Tommy nodded in thanks and jogged off to find a cab.

-

Dinner was pleasant, and Kim found herself reminded what it was that had endeared her to him in the first place. But while she had been polite and kept up the conversation as best she could, he was being more attentive than she’d expected. 

“So Kim… have you ever wondered if you had made the Pan Globals if we could have made it work?” Chris asked over the light of the lantern in the middle of their table.

“I…” Kim stuttered, shocked at the question.

“I know, especially after seeing you yesterday that I have.”

“Chris…” she said in a dark tone, finally realizing his attention was more than friendly.

“What? You’re an attractive woman Kim. Caring, generous and you know what it means to sacrifice for a goal. What more could a man want,” he stated as he leaned forward, quickly reaching a hand across the table to catch hers.

“Don’t,” she started to say, as she tried to pull her hand away when she felt a presence over her shoulder.

“I’m sorry, am I interrupting something?” said a familiar voice, and Kim nearly jumped as she turned quickly to find Tommy standing by the table, his eyes staring at Chris’ hand on hers.

“Tommy… it’s not what it looks like,” she stammered, her heart thundering in her chest as she yanked her hand from where Chris’ had pinned it.

“Tommy?” Chris asked, looking from Kim’s frightened face to the well-built man standing at the side of their table, with eyes burning holes into the woman looking at him.

At Chris’ voice, Tommy swung his gaze to the other man. The one who had haunted his nights for years, when he didn’t know his name. Now he did know his name, and finally he’d seen his former rival’s face. For the first time in nearly nine years, Tommy Oliver was facing the man he’d lost Kimberly to.

And this time this man was not leaving with *his* Kim.

“Tommy Oliver. The name should ring a bell. I was Kim’s boyfriend when you two met in Florida,” he stated thickly.

Chris was shocked at this turn of events, but still indignant. It wasn’t his fault Kim had dumped this guy for him back in the day. As it was, he couldn’t see what was so special about Tommy that Kim had been so upset about not hearing from him for weeks before she fell into his waiting arms.

“I’d say it was nice to meet you, but that probably would be a lie,” Chris snapped. “So, is there a reason you’re interrupting our dinner?”

Their voices were carrying, and a large portion of the restaurant was staring at them. Kim felt the weight of the air pressing down on her, stifling her and knew that this was about to escalate right there if she didn’t intervene.

“Tommy, please, don’t cause a scene,” she said softly, and he nearly growled.

Quickly, Tommy gripped Chris’ upper arm, hauled him from his seat. Kim hurriedly threw down some cash down for the check as Tommy roughly escorted Chris outside. With barely restrained force, Tommy shoved the other man up against the wall outside the restaurant. They were out of sight of the windows but in clear view of the people walking along the street that slowed to note the confrontation, but stayed out of it. As Kim came out of the restaurant, she found Tommy menacing Chris with a look that reminded her of his evil green ranger days.

“You are hitting on *my* girlfriend,” Tommy said darkly, “and if the fact that I lost her to you once wasn’t enough, I am not about to let you have her again.”

Chris instantly realized his mistake the moment his back had hit the stucco wall. The man before him wasn’t a push over, and he was obviously in love with Kim. As Tommy glared at him, Kim’s behavior earlier suddenly made sense. She had been despondent about the picture and how it obviously would look to her boyfriend. And his own foolish attempts to hook up with her again had put him back in the middle of a relationship that probably should have survived her Pan Global attempts, had he not been waiting in the wings to ease her pain.

The dark look to Tommy’s eyes made Chris’ body shudder, and he knew he had split seconds to get out of this mess.

“Look man, I didn’t know she was with someone. I asked her to dinner as a friend. She didn’t know I was interested in something more than that,” Chris stammered, afraid of the glare Tommy was giving him.

“Then I suggest you leave her alone, if you know what’s good for you.”

Indicating that he should hit the road, Tommy inclined his head towards the street, and watched as Chris walked hurriedly away. It was only once the man was out of sight that he turned to the other player in this soap opera. But what he found when he looked at Kim shocked him. He’d been angry, he had realized that when he’d seen the picture. The thought that she’d be willing to be around this guy, maybe still care for him had made his blood boil. Then the scene he’d walked in on at the restaurant… it had made him see red.

But now Kimberly stood before him, her head tilted towards the pavement, her sun-kissed caramel locks obscuring her face and her arms wrapped around her middle. The very slight audible sound of her muffled crying broke right through his rage and pierced his heart.

“Kim?” he said quietly, as he reached for her arm, and he was startled when she flinched, backing away from him.

He tried again, and she stepped back once more, slowly raising her face to his. The pain he found behind her brown eyes, the streaming tears burned him.

“Don’t,” she murmured, choking on the word, “don’t touch me.”

“Please Kim…”

The weight of everything that had happened, both now and back then was falling on her in this moment. Her fear that the picture of her and Chris would anger Tommy had been fulfilled. She’d done the one thing that she should never have done… made Tommy question her love, her loyalty by letting Chris anywhere near her. She’d brought up the pain and betrayal of the past into her present life with disastrous consequences. Could he ever forgive her for it? Should he?

“No… Please, I don’t want to do this. You shouldn’t have had to come here. I should have stayed away from Chris. I didn’t think that you’d think… I don’t deserve you.”

The last part of her statement brought Tommy up short. What was she saying? Could she really believe that he’d let her go without an explanation, without him trying to fix things? Didn’t she know he’d learned his lesson from eight years ago?

“Kimberly… Beautiful…” he started, respecting reluctantly her desire to keep her distance, while all around them people walked by, barely noticing the emotional drama going on.

He watched as she swung her head away from him, her throat working convulsively as she choked down sobs.

“I’m sorry… I didn’t know…” Kim stammered, trying to explain, fix things, if she could…

Suddenly he realized that she was blaming herself for what Chris had done. She hadn’t realized the photo had been taken, or that Chris was trying to move in on her. Now she was simply afraid and he wasn’t sure what would get through to her. There was only one straightforward thing he could think of. He moved slowly closer until he feared she’d move away again before he spoke.

“I love you,” he said simply, reaching for her again.

Kim’s eyes shot up again, the stunned surprise evident.

“What? But I…”

“Did seeing the picture of you and Chris hurt? Yeah, it did. And finding out you were out to dinner with him when I arrived had me ready to put his lights out. But I learned my lesson from the last time. I wasn’t letting him get between us.”

“He wasn’t you know,” she said softly, and it was his turn to be surprised. “I didn’t know he was interested in me again. I thought it was just a friendly dinner… for old time’s sake. I would never have let him try to start something with me when I’m in love with *you*. I was just about to tell him…”

“When I walked in and found him touching you,” Tommy finished for her, and saw her slightly nod.

“I’m sorry. You shouldn’t have had to see that. You shouldn’t have had to think that I would be charmed by him again. I tried to call you after the picture, but I couldn’t reach you…”

“I was probably already on the plane for Athens,” Tommy said bitterly, realizing he’d been too quick to fly to her side, see what was going on. His own fears about not being good enough for her had led him into this mess. Still he couldn’t complain. He was there with her, and she was still his.

“I would never leave you again,” Kim vowed suddenly, her face still tear stained but with a look of determination that he remembered from their days as rangers together. “*Never*. I wouldn’t be able to survive without you again.”

“I’m sorry Kim, I shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions…”

Feeling the guilt rolling off him in waves, she did the only thing she could think of; she simply walked up to him and wound her arms around his waist, turning into his chest. As his arms wrapped around her, he felt himself let go of the anger and fear. She was real and in *his* arms.

Just where she belonged.

As Tommy held Kim tightly in his embrace, feeling complete in every sense of the word, he wondered what they were going to do now.

Kim of course was one step ahead of him, as she eased away from his chest enough to murmur her question.

“So, you coming back to the room with me?”

He started at that, pushing her out at half-arm’s length to stare her in the eyes. The seriousness there was mixed with regret and over it all was a fiery longing. 

It had been too long since he’d seen her…

“You’re okay with this? I mean, I really was a jerk,” he stated, starting to feel like the caveman that Kim always accused him of being.

“I *love* you. And in truth, you flying all the way to Greece to ‘rescue’ me from Chris is actually sort of romantic. By the way, why did you fly here, rather than wait for me to call? You should have known I would…”

“Kira and Conner,” he replied embarrassed. “I was already sort of worried, and they convinced me that I should come over here and take care of business, so to speak.”

Kim sighed, and then smiled her most radiant grin at the man she loved. He was flawed, always feeling guilty or not worthy of what he had. But in his heart, he was a hero, and he loved her more than anything on this Earth. And that made her love him all the more.

“Well, since you’re here, let’s make the most of it, shall we? It’s still two weeks until the games finish…”

Tommy couldn’t help the leer that crept across his face as her eyebrows rose and she winked at him. Without another word, he leaned down and kissed her soundly, pulling her back into his embrace as she threw her arms around his neck.

Enclosed as they were in their own world, the fact that they were kissing heatedly in the middle of the street hadn’t hit them until a passerby whistled at them. Instantly Tommy came back to his senses, turning slightly to stare at the guy who’d gone past, and realized that he and Kim were gaining a lot more attention than he liked. Especially the way that she was staring at him, as if she wanted to devour him right there…

“Let’s get a taxi back to the Olympic Village, like now,” he suggested, her close proximity and their heated kisses having already put his neglected sex drive into high gear.

Without a word, she grabbed his hands and headed them towards the cross streets. There was lots of foot traffic, and finding a cab actually wasn’t as tough as she had feared. She had to thank the extra visitors, as every drive was probably out and about, hoping to make as much money from the Olympic tourists as they could.

“The Olympic Village – residential gate please,” Kim stated as she got in, pulling Tommy in after her.

Once the door slammed behind them, the small car was off, weaving through the small streets. In fifteen minutes, which Tommy attributed to the guy behind the wheel going faster than he should have been going or knowing where all the shortcuts were. Still, considering he was trying to keep his hands off Kim, lest he give the guy more of a show than he deserved, he had to focus on something…

When the cab finally stopped, Kim climbed out and paid the driver. She stood in the street with Tommy as he drove off, leaving them in front of the entrance to the Olympic Village, closer to the residential gate than the International area. Catching his hand in hers, Kimberly walked them to the security gate, ignoring the looks of some of the athletes and coaches going in and out of the secured area.

“He’s with me,” Kim stated to the guard who wasn’t the same one who had been on duty earlier, which Tommy was more than a little happy about.

The man verified her credentials and asked for Tommy’s ID. When he’d looked over his passport, he handed Tommy a plastic badge with ‘visitor’ in large letters on it. As soon as he noted the badge being given to Tommy on his log, he pressed a button, opening the gate.

The two of them walked along the pathway towards the seemingly limitless area of the residential area. The white and blue trimmed apartment style buildings housing the athletes and coaches loomed ahead of them. There were lots of people walking about, even though it was already late.

Taking the elevator, Tommy enfolded Kim in his arms as they made their way up to Kim’s floor, but the ride was over too soon, as the elevator doors opened and the floor indicator chimed.

“When do you leave?” Kim asked as they exited the elevator on her floor and walked hand in hand along the corridor to her apartment.

“Too soon,” he replied, gripping her hand tighter, and when she turned to look at him, his face fell slightly. “Noon tomorrow.”

“So soon?”

“This wasn’t really a vacation Kim… I had to come here to make sure you were okay, that *we* were okay.”

“But tomorrow? Couldn’t you have gotten a flight in a few days?” Kim asked as they walked.

“Yeah, but I had no idea what I would find. Plus, where was I going to stay? I doubt there’s any hotels with vacancies with the Olympics going on.”

“You would have stayed with me…” she said with a frown and slightly quickened her pace as they walked down the corridor.

“And if you *had* decided to go back to Chris? No, I knew I couldn’t stay long, no matter what.”

“What do you mean?”

“I don’t want to be a distraction to you Kim,” Tommy said as they reached her door, and she slid her keycard into the lock. “You’re so close to accomplishing your dream, just in a different way. I’d be in the way. And I need to get back. The bad guys aren’t going to wait for me to get back.”

She nodded in understanding. They both still had their responsibilities. So there wasn’t any extra time to waste, Kim thought as she pushed the door open. She walked in, flipping on the light switch as Tommy followed he.

“We should go out tomorrow morning,” she stated as he closed the door behind them, staring at Tommy as he walked into the small apartment sized space of her accommodations and towards her.

“Sure,” he said distractedly.

He focused his gaze on her then, and Kim found herself unable to breathe. The look in his eyes ripped away the last vestiges of restraint from her, and she nearly flung herself into his embrace.

Tommy held Kim to him tightly, afraid of letting go, and Kim clutched him just as tightly. There never seemed to be enough time… Slowly they eased their grip on one another only enough to allow their hands to roam with a caress here and a touch there, as they indulged in desperate, passionate kisses as they moved towards the bed. 

Sleep did eventually come… but only after they assured one another of their commitment to one another.


	31. Fear Factor

The next morning found them sprawled in Kim’s bed, bodies still linked like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. 

Kim woke with the alarm, set as it was now for early morning practice, and heard Tommy groan beside her. Swiftly she untangled herself from his embrace and the sheets and turned it off. She moved from the bed and picked up the receiver of her phone, running her finger along the short list of the coaching staff and gymnasts in the housing. Quickly she dialed a five digit number and waited as it rang. It was only when Tommy opened his eyes and focused on her that whomever on the other end answered.

“Anton? Hey, it’s Kim.”

Tommy watched as Kim nodded her head, obviously listening to her boss, Coach Gregor on the other end.

“Yeah, he found me. Actually, that’s why I’m calling. I thought I might skip practice this morning with the team? He has a noon flight, and we thought we’d take a quick look around this morning.”

There was another round of silence, and then she smiled.

“Great. I’ll see you then.”

Hanging up, Kim slid back under the covers and found herself immediately wrapped up in Tommy’s embrace.

“So, are we good?” Tommy asked.

“We are. There’s an afternoon session I need to be at, but not until three.”

“Then let’s get dressed…”

It did take them a while, but after showering, Tommy threw on the clothes he’d worn to Greece: blue jeans, black t-shirt and a tan button up shirt along with his boots. While he dressed, Kim showered, and then chose a simple floral printed sundress of violet and pink tones and sandals to wear outside. Collecting a wide brimmed straw sun hat, she grabbed Tommy’s hand and her ID badge with her room key and cash and they headed out.

Once they’d gotten out of her room, they’d made their way through the building, down the elevator and out into the bright sun. Tommy shaded his eyes, and Kim threw on her hat. She’d bought it her first day out since arriving in Athens, and it was a purchase that was keeping her from melting in the hot Greek weather. Before they could start sight seeing, they had to hand in Tommy’s visitor badge at the security gate. With that done, they set out to look around Athens.

-

After a walk through the Olympic Village, they had headed for the real streets of Athens where they felt the crush of people disappear, unlike how it had been in the Olympic venues. Without knowing exactly where they were going, they headed West, passing street after street of shops, businesses and eateries. They walked along without a care, appreciating the little time they had before Tommy’s plane left for the U.S.

“So, you’re taking time off from ‘the job’ huh?” Kim joked as they walked along the tight pathways, stopping to peek into a souvenir shop window.

“The team promised to take care of things while I was gone. Besides, you and I both know that they’re more than capable.”

“Of course. You did train them.”

He batted a hand at her as they walked past a sidewalk espresso stand, and stopped briefly to get a cup each, as well as a local pastry to give them some much needed nourishment. The coffee was good, and the pastries tasty, but the simple act of being able to be together was more than enough to keep them energized. 

It was then, holding Kim’s hand and turning to walk along the plazas of Greece that Tommy truly realized that that Kim was his.

They’d been through so much over the years: being rangers, losing powers, watching the other in danger, being separated, not being in love with one another… the list was as long as his arm. And when they’d finally found their way back together, he’d feared he’d lost her again.

To Chris Masters.

Yet after confronting the guy, and then the heartrending reaction Kim had at his anger, fearing it was directed at her, he’d felt like the last of the questions about their future had evaporated into thin air. Kim had in no certain terms informed him that she was in love with him, and had no interest in not only her former Pan Global flame, but anyone who wasn’t him.

But their reunion on the streets of Athens was bittersweet; his flight was leaving in just a few more hours. Still, they had some time, and they continued to wander through some of the tourist style shops. 

“Do you think Aisha would like this?” Kim asked, holding up a replica of an ancient Greek vase from the front table of a local potter’s store.

“Probably. But then if it’s from you, I’m sure she’d love anything you got her.”

Undecided, she turned to head out, with Tommy only a step or two behind her. Once they were on the street again, he had her hand in his, keeping possession of what he considered his.

They crossed the street and then turned the corner, starting down along another narrow road, with just enough space for parking cars on one side and one lane of traffic going in each direction. The type of businesses along the larger street were eclectic, and Tommy wondered how much business they did before the tourists for the Olympics had arrived. Considering the rumors, their business would pick up again after the Olympics were gone.

As he noted an older looking local café across the street from them, Tommy found himself scanning the area rapidly. While the streets were not so busy, and nothing seemed unusual, something had set his radar off. It was part of his old habits of being a ranger and the leader of a ranger team. He had learned to trust his instincts about trouble. Yet before he could make any guess as to what it was that was bothering him, things quickly spiraled out of control.

The café blew up.

In a split second Tommy threw himself and Kim to the pavement as glass, flame, wood and stone exploded out into the street in a roar of noise. Billows of dark smoke rolled over them, and they heard screams and moans fill the air. Tommy picked himself up and then reached down to help Kim up.

They turned to look at the center of where the blast had come from and what greeted them looked like a war zone.

“Oh my God,” Tommy murmured.

The entire café was in ruins, and the cars and other vehicles in front were twisted heaps of metal on fire, black smoke pouring from them, the vehicles a little farther down the street had their windows blown out, like most of the buildings around the area. Then the sound of sirens in the distance hit them as the emergency vehicles more than likely had been called and were headed towards the chaos.

“Kim, you okay?” Tommy hurriedly asked, turning to look at his love as the sounds of screaming, crying, wailing and shouting continued.

Her mouth hung open slightly as she took in the carnage. He saw the scrape on her forehead where her hat had been flung off and she’d hit the pavement when he’d thrown them to the ground. Beyond that, she seemed alright. Another scream for help pulled him away from her, his body turning automatically when Kim gasped, bringing his attention back to her.

“Oh God, Tommy, you’re hurt,” she said shocked, reaching for him.

Tommy pulled up short when he felt Kim turn him towards her and to the right. Then her fingers brushed feather light along his left shoulder, and he winced. 

“There’s a piece of glass here. We should have you see a doctor.”

Shaking his head, Tommy tried to reach for it himself, but couldn’t get a grip.

“There’s no time for that. Kim, we need to help these people while the emergency crews are still on their way. Just pull it out, and we’ll start helping check for injured people.”

“But…”

He gave her a determined look, and Kim recognized it immediately. He was in leader mode. Their own pain and fear needed to get put away while they helped those around them. This was what they were – uniforms or no, years long past or none at all. They were heroes - rangers. Always.

And protecting life was paramount.

Biting down on her lower lip, Kim reached out and took a firm grip on the shard of glass. With a slight nod of his head, indicating he was ready, Kim yanked the two inch piece of glass from Tommy’s shoulder, and he grunted with the pain. Tossing the glass aside, she quickly ripped a piece from her gauzy dress and pressed it tightly to the bleeding wound. 

Only after a few moment’s had ticked by, Tommy took hold of her hand and pulled it away.

“It’ll be fine. Let’s do what we can now.”

She gave a tight little smile, and they turned and waded into the chaos, doing what they could to help anyone they found.

-

An hour later, Tommy and Kim walked through the International terminal in Athens. His plane was leaving in just under an hour. He sported an Athens police t-shirt, given to him by one of the rescuers who had arrived after the carnage, and found him and Kim tending to the wounded and helping those who couldn’t get out of the wreckage to the ambulances. His shirts had been ruined with blood, smoke and the hole where the glass had cut into him, so the man had given him the shirt as a sort of thank you.

As they walked now, he found himself tightening his grip on her hand. The fear that he’d fixated on when he’d gotten on the plane to Athens was gone. No one had come between them, Kim loved only him and his fears about her former flame had been unfounded. 

But when the bomb had gone off less than two hours ago, he’d been struck with another kind of fear…

Now, as they reached the last area for unticketed passengers, Tommy felt that fear creeping up on him again. The fear that he’d never see her again. It was irrational, he knew that. But still he felt it. He loved her so much, he couldn’t lose her again. 

Every moment since the first moment he’d seen her flashed through his mind. After so many times of saying goodbye to her, he didn’t want to say it this time. And now, in this moment, he knew for a fact that he was going to marry this woman and they’d live happily ever after.

He turned her towards him, taking both of her hands and looking deeply into her heart and soul through her soft brown eyes. If nothing else, he wanted to leave with something more than he came there with; a real promise that he’d never have to say goodbye to her ever again.

“Kimberly, I love you,” Tommy said, and watched her smile at him, her head tilting slightly at the serious tone of his voice.

“I know Tommy; I love you too.”

“I know you do Beautiful, but I meant… God, I don’t know how to say this without just saying it. I spent so many years without you; before we met, after you left that first time, and then all the months since we found our way back to one another again. All I know is that I’m a better man when you’re with me. I can’t imagine being without you now.”

Kim tightened her grip on his hands, and felt his answering squeeze nearly crush her fingers.

“You are my heart and soul Kimberly, and I will love you forever,” he said softly, pulling her closer as he forced the last words past his lips. “Will you marry me?”

He watched as first her face went blank, the color draining from it and her eyes grew liquid as the words sank into her heart and soul. Seeing her reaction, Tommy quickly began to fumble through an explanation, as if to make her realize how serious he was.

“I didn’t bring the ring with me Kim… I hadn’t planned on being here, or being in this situation, but…” he stammered.

When she pulled her hands from his, his heart sunk. Then he saw the tears streaking down her face and the brilliant smile that he’d only seen a few times in his life – those moments that had always brought her to him.

“Yes, yes, God… a thousand times yes,” Kim said thickly as she flung her arms around him in a tight embrace, her hat falling to the carpeted terminal floor.

There was nothing to say. His love had agreed to marry him, and he crushed her to him tightly, sealing them together in the middle of the jet way, and people around them who had heard the proposal applauded around them. Still, that sound as well as the other noises of planes taking off, people moving past and talking was washed out by the thundering in their ears by the beating of their joined hearts as they clung together.

Reaching a hand up, Tommy clutched Kim’s face and guided it to him, locking their lips into an intense yet emotionally soft kiss.

Only when they finally pulled their lips from one another did Kim realize what they’d done.

“So, no ring,” she said smiling, teasing her *fiancé*. “Your memory doesn’t seem to have gotten all that much better since we first started dating.” 

“Stop it… It’s in Reefside and I’ll have it in hand when you get off the plane,” he replied happily, smiling at the woman who was his life.

“You’d better.”

“Call me in 18 hours, alright? I should be in by then.”

“We’re going to make this work, aren’t we?”

“After everything we’ve been through to get here, I can’t see how we *can’t* work,” he replied, running a hand along her cheek.

Kim nodded, reaching up to cover the hand on her cheek with her own. Even if the team won the gold medal it wouldn’t compare to this moment. 

“I have to head back…”

“Be careful, alright?” Tommy asked of her, knowing the danger was obviously not over and she nodded.

“You too,” demanded Kim, and he shrugged.

“Hey, I can’t avoid ‘work’ you know.”

“Just don’t do anything stupid.”

“Hey, it’s me.”

“I know, that’s why I’m asking you to try not to do the stupid, dangerous things I know you probably will end up doing anyway.”

Tommy laughed and leaned down to kiss her again. She knew how he was. Wasn’t that why he needed her in his life. The one person who called him on his stupidity and stubbornness?

“Love you.”

“Love you too Tommy.”

“I’ll see you soon.”

Before he could step back, Kim reached up and wrapped her hand around his neck and pulled his lips down to her mouth. As they met, her lips sealed her return to him with a determined promise. They belonged to not just themselves, but to each other. And she was determined to make sure that she returned to him this time, like she hadn’t before.

When the kiss finally broke, they stared into each other’s eyes, seeing the love and dedication there.

“Go. Your plane leaves soon,” Kim insisted, and pulled her hand from its place around his neck. “I’ll call you with my flight information to Reefside soon.”

Unable to say anything more if he wanted to get on the plane, Tommy grasped Kim’s fingers and weaved them briefly with his own before breaking away and hurrying away to customs before he boarded his plane.

Kim watched him leave, her hand pressed against her lips to hold the feeling of his mouth on hers a little longer. Soon enough, she’d be back in his arms… her fiancé’s arms.

The thought of that made her giggle, and when the laughter stopped, she quickly bent to pick up her hat and then turned to head back to her current responsibilities while her mind whirled around her future ones.


	32. Against All Odds

If anyone had told Tommy the day he got the letter breaking his heart that nearly eight years later he’d be engaged to the love of his life he would have laughed in their face. It was against all the odds that he and Kim had found their way back together.

On the other hand, maybe it wasn’t. Jason had always said that they were meant for one another. Perhaps that was what had led them back to one another. When no one else would do for either of them, it was the only thing that they could do… find their way back to each other so they could be whole again.

He thought of that as he made his calls. He’s spoken to Kim briefly after arriving back in the states, and they’d agreed to start calling people about the engagement. He was only now, days later getting around to it. The first call had been to his parents, who were more than a little surprised. While he’d kept them in the loop about how he and Kim had finally settled things between them and were friends again, he had been a bit behind on informing them that he and Kim were serious again, even though that hadn’t happened until six months ago.

Next had been a call to David to let him know that his gift was going to be used sooner than later. He’d ended up talking briefly to Sam, who had simply said that he would be happy to accompany David to the wedding after Kimberly arrived in Reefside. As usually, Tommy took the older shaman’s words in stride. He’d long ago learned that Sam knew more than anyone really should, and simply thanked him again for advising David to send the rings. 

Once he hung up with his brother, he knew he had one more call to make. He had to call the person that was going to give him hell about the engagement – Jason.

Flipping the pages in his address book, Tommy got to Jason’s page, and started to dial the phone. The other end rang a few times and finally Jase picked up.

“Hello?”

“Jason, hey…”

“Tommy,” Jason replied, recognizing his friend’s voice, “what’s news? Everything in Reefside okay?”

“Yeah, I just…” Tommy began and then paused, not sure how to tell his friend the news.

“What?”

“You’ve got maybe a month to finish the speech,” Tommy said finally with a slight hint of humor in his voice.

“You… I, she, you finally asked her?” Jason fired off in stuttering surprise. While his best friend had asked him about how to ask Kim, he was shocked at how soon it had happened.

“I did.”

“Congratulations!”

“So, you know you’re going to have to stand up for me,” Tommy stated, rather than asked, smiling widely at the thought of Jase by his side as Kim walked down the aisle at their wedding.

“Why else would I be writing the damn speech?” remarked Jason, and Tommy laughed on his end of the phone. “Who else knows?” 

“Kim’s calling her parents and Aisha when she has time at the games. I already called my brother, and my parents…”

“And what did they think of having Kim as their future daughter in law?”

“They were surprised…”

“Why… I mean once I knew you two were back together I knew…”commented Jason, and as silence greeted him, he realized why Tommy’s parents would be surprised. “Don’t tell me you didn’t tell them?”

“I kept planning on telling them. But with the teaching job, Mesogog, Kim, the new rangers, me being back in uniform and the evil ranger… I just never got around to it.”

Jason sighed on the other end of the line. His friend was a good man, but had a horrible memory and even worse sense of communicating long distance. He still was amazed that Tommy had been able to make things work with Kim this time.

“Fine. So, have you set a date yet?”

“Not officially. We, well *I* sort of figured to wait for a few weeks until Kim got settled here before…”

“Okay, late September then. If I know you, you’ll have the ring around her finger before she can change her mind. I’ll put in the vacation request.”

“Sounds good.”

“You mind if I call Zack, Adam and Rocky?”

“Sure, no prob. Why do you want to tell them the news?” Tommy asked, curious.

“They owe me twenty bucks each,” replied Jason with laughter in his voice.

“You… you bet on how long it was going to take me to propose to Kim?” asked Tommy indignantly.

“They figured you’d wait at least until she got to Reefside, or a few months after that. I knew you wouldn’t be able to wait much longer, especially after you called about the ring.”

“I don’t believe you were betting on my love life,” Tommy sighed on his end of the phone and shook his head.

“How about I use my ill-gained winnings to buy the first round of drinks at your bachelor party. Will that make up for it?”

“Maybe.”

“Speaking of the proposal, she’s in Athens still, right? So how did you ask her? I mean, you had to ask her over the phone? Man, that’s really bad bro. You should have waited to do it face to face.”

“Uh, that’s not really how it happened…” Tommy started, his voice unsure, and he knew Jason would pick up on it, which he did

“Spill it Tommy. You know I’m going to find out anyway,” Jason reminded him in his own stern leader-like voice.

“Uh, I was in Athens two days ago,” admitted Tommy uncomfortably.

“What? Whoa, wait a second. Why did you do that? I mean, yeah, I know you love the woman and couldn’t wait to get that ring on her finger, but to fly to Greece?”

“It really wasn’t my idea… the team sort of said I should…”

“Wait, your team? Conner and the rest?”

“Mostly Kira, the new yellow ranger and Conner, but yeah. It’s a long story, and most of it not very good.”

There was a silence on Jason’s end, and Tommy knew that he couldn’t keep things like this from his friend. As it was, what he and Kim had gone through was something that he really needed to talk about. So he decided to go ahead and explain. With a sigh, Tommy began his tale of how he’d seen the picture of Kim with Chris, and then been persuaded to follow his gut and go ‘rescue’ her. He skimmed over the more intimate parts, and then went into the whole terrorist bombing.

“You guys okay?” asked Jason in shock and concern. He’d heard about the terrorist bombing, but had not been concerned about Kim because he hadn’t seen her name on the list of casualties. Now his concern was for their state of mind.

“Yeah. Kim got a bit scraped up, and I ended up getting a few paper stitches before I left for the states for a cut in my shoulder. Overall, I’ve been through worse. It was just the willful destruction and death, you know? I mean with Zedd and Rita and the others, even Mesogog, they’re aliens; they don’t care about humanity. But for other human beings to do that to people… it just…”

“It’s hard to think we can do that to each other,” Jase remarked, and Tommy confirmed his hypothesis. “So, you and Kim were there, being heroes, huh?”

“Yeah. You know, once a ranger…” Tommy said, and Jase laughed in understanding.

“So was this what prompted the proposal?”

“I didn’t want to leave without asking her, just in case…” Tommy explained, and Jason understood.

“How did she like the ring?”

“Uh… I didn’t have it. I promised she’d get it when she got to Reefside.”

Jason sighed. After all these years, he’d have thought that his friend would have invested in memory enhancing supplements or something. But no, he had to be so impetuous that he ran off to make sure he still had a girlfriend that he ended up not having the engagement ring with him when he finally got the courage up to ask her.

Greatest ranger ever, maybe… best memory, never.

“Well, as long as you asked her… You know bro, I’m really glad you and Kim are where you belong you know.”

“So am I.”

“E-mail me with the date, okay?” said Jason.

“Alright. Talk to you soon.”

With that, Jase hung up his end, and Tommy hung up his. Then like clockwork he reached for his remote control and turned on the Olympics, looking for that elusive shot of his fiancé, tape delayed and half a world away.

-

Kimberly Hart sat with the phone glued to her head in the athletes’ pavilion. She had finally been able to find the time to call Aisha about the engagement, who was now nearly screaming her ear off as Kim told her the news. 

“You’re kidding?” Aisha asked, shocked beyond all reason. She knew things were serious with her best friend and their former fearless leader, but engaged…

“No. It was so… You wouldn’t believe the whole thing if I told you ‘sha,” demurred Kim, not wanting to air the disaster of Chris Masters, the catalyst of the whole thing even to her best friend. She was still upset with herself for even saying two words to the man.

“What’s the ring look like?”

“I don’t know. He didn’t bring it with him.”

“Same old Tommy – forgetful to the end. I mean, not bringing your engagement ring when he proposes to you. True to form.”

“He hadn’t really planned on asking me. It was a spur of the moment thing, you know?”

“Yeah. So, when are you finally making it legal?”

“I’m not sure. I mean I’m not out there yet, and we haven’t talked about how long we want to plan this out…” Kim rambled, and then realized there was something she still hadn’t brought up with the person who’d been her best friend since nearly the day they’d met. “You’re going to be with me in this, right?”

“Of course I will. I mean, no one could be happier about this than me. I knew you two were meant for one another. Just tell me when it’s going to be and I’ll be there,” Aisha stated.

Confused at Aisha’s reply, Kim wondered if she’d been clear, and decided to state her wishes more specifically.

“No… Aisha, I mean… will you stand up for me?”

“Oh my God, Kim… I’m so flattered, of course I will. I’m… Thank you,” Aisha said, shocked. “Kim, I know that you probably would have asked…”

“Stop it,” Kim snapped, and then softened her tone. “You’re one of my best friends. Yeah, I wish Trini could be here, but it just means I don’t have to make you flip a coin to see who got the job.”

Aisha couldn’t help but laugh at the image, remembering the raven haired ranger and thought that there might have been a fight to push for the best two out of three. Or maybe really fighting… Kim listened, and waited.

“Sorry, I was just imagining Trini and I arm wrestling for the honor.”

Then Kim laughed, and they both shared the moment. No matter Trini wasn’t with them in person, her spirit lived on in all of them.

“So, I’ll contact you after I get to Reefside with the date.”

“Sounds good girlfriend. You take care out there, and get those girls a gold, alright?”

“You got it. Bye ‘sha.”

Kim hung up the phone with a smile. There had been no doubt that Aisha and the rest of the team would be happy for her. However the last two calls she had on her list were the ones she was worried about – her parents. Her mom and Pierre were still in Paris, with Pierre’s art still selling very well and keeping them comfortable. Her dad was another matter. She had a number for him, but she was still torn if she wanted to call him. After the divorce, things had been tough, but in the last six years they’d drifted further and further apart.

Hell, she wasn’t even sure she wanted him to walk her down the aisle.

Still, that could wait. She needed to call her mom. Taking the phone back off the hook, she dialed her calling card number, then her mom’s number in Paris. The phone rang a few times before her mom answered in French.

“Hi mom,” Kim said.

“Kimberly! How are you?” Caroline asked, shifting from French to English in a second. “We’ve been watching the games. You’re girls are doing wonderfully.”

“Thanks. Anyway, that’s not really why I was calling.”

“Oh?”

“You remember I told you Tommy and I were talking again…”

“I remember. So, have things changed?”

“You could say that… he asked me to marry him yesterday.”

“You’re kidding!” Caroline exclaimed.

“Nope.”

“And?”

“What? I said yes.”

“This is so wonderful,” Caroline gushed, making Kim wonder what had happened to her normally conservative mother. “I knew that you were never happy after your breakup with him. He always seemed to make you so happy. I know that you probably thought that I was oblivious, but I knew you two really cared for each other.”

“I always thought you weren’t pleased with my being with Tommy, especially in the beginning.”

“Maybe, but I think I gained a new perspective after meeting Pierre. I learned that being with the person you love is the most important thing in the world. And I’m so happy that you’re finally going to get that chance again.”

“Thanks mom.”

“So, when is the wedding?”

“Sometime after I get to Reefside I guess. Maybe a few months, or longer depending. We haven’t gotten as far as to set a date.”

“Well, you call me when you get settled and let me know when Pierre and I need to come out. Have you called your father?”

Kim paused and wondered for the hundredth time since Tommy had asked her about her inviting her father to the wedding. She loved him, but things between them weren’t like they used to be. Still, it was her wedding, and he was her father.

“Not yet. Actually, I don’t have his number with me… I packed my address book to send to Reefside, and only had you and Aisha’s numbers memorized. Could you call him for me?”

“Kim…”

“Really mom… I’m not sure he’ll be happy, let alone want to come. And I don’t want to deal with it right now. Besides, I have to get to dinner with the team in fifteen minutes.”

Caroline sighed and wished again that her divorce with Kim’s father had gone better, and that her ex-husband had been more involved in his daughter’s life. But the choices had been made, and there wasn’t anything anyone could do about it. She was only glad that Kim had been able to find happiness with someone she really cared for.

“Alright, but you should call him when you get back to the states.”

“I will, thanks. Love you mom.”

“Love you too sweetie.”

With that, they hung up, and Kim turned and headed for the athletes’ cafeteria.

-

Gauging the time zone difference had been tough, but Kim was pretty sure she had figured it out. It was 9pm her time, which meant Tommy should be up in the U.S. and her calling wouldn’t wake him. Still she felt like the distance now was more an annoyance than ever. She just wanted the last of the finals to be over, so they could hand out the medals and she could get on a plane for home.

She’d gotten her ticket… for the first flight out the morning after the last of the women’s gymnastics medal ceremonies. When she’d explained to Anton she was planning on leaving on that first flight out, he’d nodded in understanding and informed her that she needed to check in with him before she left. Once that agreement had been finalized, she’d spent the rest of the last week in a daze: between the aftermath of the bombing, her engagement and the girls’ performances, she had been in a whirlwind of activity. And there was still the individual all around medals and the apparatus medal competitions still to go.

As it was, this was only her second call to Tommy since he’d gotten back to the U.S. The first had been right after the opening ceremonies had ended, and he’d just gotten into Reefside. The conversation had been brief, consisting of a lot of ‘I love you’s’ and ‘be careful’s’.

This was her first call to really speak with him, including giving him her flight number.

Her hands nearly trembled as she dialed her calling card number, and then the international code followed by Tommy’s number. The line rang with the slight transatlantic buzz before the ring, and after only the second ring on his end, she heard the line pick up.

“Hello?”

“Hi you,” Kim said, her voice suddenly full of emotion at just the sound of his on the line.

“Kim, God I’m so glad to hear from you,” he replied, his voice matching hers in its tone.

“I’m sorry I haven’t called sooner. I had so much going on here, and then I had to call Aisha and my mom about the engagement…”

“How did your mom take it?” Tommy asked, slightly worried.

“She’s thrilled. You’d think that I won the lottery or something,” she remarked, and then amended herself. “Which I think I did in a way.”

“Me too. I called David and my parents. They’re looking forward to you being Mrs. Oliver almost as much as me,” said Tommy, and Kim laughed on her end, shifting on her seat in the small phone booths in the athlete’s lounge. “And I called Jase. He was surprised that I asked you already, considering he knew you were there, and well… I ended up telling him about my flying to Athens.”

“What did he say?” Kim asked, concerned about what her dear friend might have thought of the circumstances of Tommy having to tax his credit card more to fly to Athens to make sure Kim hadn’t been stolen away by her ex.

“He was more concerned about the bombing. While he hadn’t seen your name in the injured or casualty lists, he’d been concerned for you, and when I told him how we’d been across the street…” Tommy explained in detail, “he was more than a little worried that we both were okay.”

“And are you? I know that I had a hard time sleeping that night, and the security here for the athletes has tripled. We’re being told that for our safety that we should stay close to the village or our venues.”

“I had a nightmare or two,” he admitted slightly, but refused to share more. 

The last thing he wanted to tell her was he’d woken up after coming in from Athens in a cold sweat, his dream being of Kim walking alone along that street when the blast had occurred, and no one had been there to shield her, and the concussion blast had thrown her violently to the pavement, her body bleeding from a million shards of glass embedded in her skin. 

“You know I’m okay, and I’ll stay that way,” she assured him, knowing instinctively that he was probably thinking up the worst that could happen before she could make her way to the safety of his arms. “Besides, I’m going to be so busy with the finals with the team, I will probably barely get time to eat.”

Tommy nodded on his end, still awed by this woman. How had he been so lucky…

“I saw they got the silver overall. You must be proud.”

“I am, but I’ll be glad when it’s all over.”

“When are you coming home? Which, by the way looks like a storage area.”

“The boxes got there? Oh good, I was starting to think they’d lost them…”

“They showed up three days ago. I guess you shipped them super cheap freight. Anyway, I would have called, but you really don’t have a number there that I can guarantee reaching you at.”

“I understand. And in less than a week I’ll be there.”

“That soon? But aren’t the closing ceremonies on the 29th…”

“They are, but the last of the individual women’s gymnastics competitions are on the 23rd, so I got the first flight out the next morning. Coach Gregor already said it was fine by him since I’ll have finished my job as soon as the last of the scores are announced. The rest is just pageantry.”

“Alright then, if you’re sure. What’s the flight number?” Tommy asked, getting up quickly to grab a piece of paper and pen from his desk.

“1572/601 on KLM. I’ll be leaving Athens at 5:45am, and arriving after a connection in Amsterdam in Reefside around 2pm. You think you can remember to come and pick me up at the airport?”

He laughed briefly as he wrote down the information in bold block letters.

“I can guarantee that I’ll remember. And if setting every alarm clock, computer meeting reminder and e-mailing our friends to make sure I get to the airport on time will convince you that I’ll be there then I’ll do it.”

Kim smirked on her end, and fought to not start laughing herself. She hated to tease him about his memory, but it was just so easy.

“Good.”

“So, how are things with the individual all around and the apparatus competitions looking? I know you guys had some problems in the preliminaries and the all around team. It looked a lot like little mistakes.”

At the mention of the team’s little errors, Kim groaned.

“Well, we got the silver, which you already know about, which wasn’t bad with everything we had to go through. I was worried about this kinda thing happening, the little mistakes that happen when you’re not as polished as you should be, as comfortable with the routines, and we got really lucky it wasn’t worse. As for the individual all-around, Carly’s most definitely looking good. But I’m just trying to focus on the things I can control… offering advice and assistance for the girls during the competition.”

“Which you do very well. I noticed you talking to Courtney after her placing fourth in the qualifying round. I think she really was glad you were there,” Tommy remarked.

“You saw that? Ugh, I looked horrible. I couldn’t get my hair to cooperate that morning, and had ended up just pinning it up and out of the way,” complained Kim.

“So? You will always look beautiful to me Beautiful.”

“That’s why I’m willing to marry you. No matter how I look, you still think I’m beautiful.”

“That’s it?” he remarked, a fake hurt tone to his voice.

“Well, maybe it’s because I love you and can’t live without you,” she relented, her voice dropping to a husky whisper.

“That’s better. I love you too Kim, and I can’t wait to have you here with me instead of looking for glimpses of you on delayed TV footage.”

“I feel the same way handsome.”

“Kim… you know I’d love to talk longer, but I have a syllabus due to the principal tomorrow at 8, and I…”

“Haven’t started it. Why am I not surprised. I’ll let you go and call you as soon as I can.”

“Love you,” said Tommy, his voice nearly cracking on the last word.

“Love you too handsome. Good luck.”

“You too.”

With that, Kim hung up and sighed. She missed him, and hearing him on the phone just reinforced that. Still, she had to remind herself as she got up and exited the booth, she was almost there… where she belonged. 

And she could manage being alone just a little longer knowing that he was there waiting for her.


	33. Pink is In Again

Kimberly Hart walked off the International flight from Athens and hefted her carry on over her shoulder. With a slight sigh, she shivered and smiled. 

She was in Reefside. For good this time.

Everything had gone well. The team had placed second in the overall, after the Romanians, receiving silver medals, and Carly had gotten a gold in the overall. Her coaching of the team had been highly praised by the head coach in private and in several interviews. She realized now that if she hadn’t been there, things might have been different. But she’d stayed the course, followed through with her commitment, and been rewarded for it, personally and professionally.

And then there was the engagement…

“Kim!”

Once she heard her name, she picked up speed and headed for the waiting area where the man who was her soul stood, his heart in his eyes and arms open and waiting for her. Without thought, she let her carry on slide off her shoulder as she threw herself into them, finding herself tightly pulled into his embrace.

“Tommy! Oh God I missed you.”

“Me too Beautiful. These have been the longest two weeks of my life.”

Easing away from him, Kim looked up into the face she knew by heart, and saw the apprehension there. As usual, he was nervous about something, and she could guess what. While she’d said yes to him earlier, she knew he wouldn’t fully relax until he had the ring on her finger and the marriage license signed.

As she thought of the subject of the ring, her mind wondered if that was the source of his concern. He hadn’t forgotten it, had he?

“So, where is it?” she said jokingly, and then gasped as he pulled her left hand up in both of his and smiled softly.

“Hey, a promise is a promise,” he remarked simply, and then pulled his right hand away to fish in his pocket for the item in question.

With a careful maneuver, he brought up his hand, allowing her to see the item clutched tightly in his hand. A simple round shaped diamond solitaire with a golden band.

“Oh Tommy!” she said in a soft exclamation, her eyes misting.

“Do you like it?” he asked nervously as he carefully slid it onto her finger, finally sealing the deal.

“Like isn’t even the word. It’s beautiful. I love it.”

“I’m glad. I was a little worried…”

“Why? It’s so elegant,” she replied.

“It’s not new, not the current style…”

“What do you mean it’s not new?” she asked, confused.

Tommy stared at her and willed the words to come.

“David sent it to me. It was my mom’s engagement ring.”

Kim’s mouth made a shocked petite ‘o’ as she was hit with the significance of what she now had on her hand. Tommy’s mother’s ring. A woman that he’d never know, but who would now be a part of his life in a new way. He had his future wife wearing this heirloom.

“Are you sure… I mean maybe David should have kept it, or you should lock it away…” she stumbled, overwhelmed.

“No. I want you to wear it. I always knew I was going to ask you to marry me, and that I’d have to find you a ring. I had even called Jason right before David sent me this, asking him to help me. But it feels right for you to wear this. I know and so does David that she would have wanted it this way.”

“Alright,” she demurred, marveling at the ring and how it fit so well, and then blurted, “how did you get the size?” 

“Jason,” he admitted sheepishly. 

“You asked Jason?” she replied in shock.

“Hey! He’s been around you longer than anyone. I figured that if he didn’t know I’d break down and call Aisha, but…”

“But what?”

“David had sent me the ring before I came to Athens. I hadn’t asked you yet, and I couldn’t be sure that Aisha wouldn’t spill the beans to you about it…”

“Wait, you had it before you came to Athens? Then why didn’t…” she asked. 

“I wasn’t sure what I was going to find when I got there,” Tommy stated seriously, and Kim knew what he was talking about. He had thought he might have lost her to Chris already.

“So that’s why you said it was in Reefside when you asked me,” said Kim, looking up at him from where her eyes had been locked on their hands. 

“I thought about bringing it with me, but I didn’t want to give it to you, to ask you to marry me and have you think I was only doing it to try to win you away from someone else… that my reason for asking was because I wanted to keep you.”

“But you did ask.”

“Because we had settled everything, and I didn’t want to leave you in Athens knowing that I could have said something, that I could have asked you… in case something happened.”

Kim nodded in understanding as she remembered the bombing and her fear as she had pulled the shard of glass from Tommy’s shoulder and watched the red of his blood soak his shirt.

“Well, it doesn’t matter anymore. I’m here and I’m not going anywhere.”

“Yes you are,” Tommy finally said, pulling Kim in for a kiss. “You’re going home.”

-

“Now that you’re here, I think we need to start planning,” Tommy said as he steered the jeep towards his house from the airport.

“Planning what?”

“The wedding. You know, a date, a location…”

“Okay… since you brought it up, I assume you have some ideas on this?” Kim asked, intrigued.

“I have the date and I think I have the location,” Tommy stated, and noticed out of the corner of his eye her slightly surprised look.

“You’ve been busy while I was in Athens. Alright, give… what did you have in mind?” she asked humorously.

“Well, I figure that we’ll need at least three weeks to put everything together, so what about September 25th?”

“So soon?”

“Is that a problem?” Tommy asked, worried now at Kim’s hesitation.

“No! It’s just that we’ll have to start making phone calls. Is there any other reason why you chose that date?”

“If I told you that was the day we first met, would you believe me?”

Kim froze in the passenger seat of Tommy’s jeep and tried to grasp what he’d just said. It was during the school year, early, after the karate tournament that they’d actually first met face to face. And he could have been right…

“Was it really?”

“I think so. But you know my memory. Anyway, it’s just a few weeks into the school year, and I didn’t want to wait any longer. Plus, I got a firm confirmation from a few people that they can make that date.”

“Like who?” Kim asked, curious.

“I called Jase with my idea for the date and he said he’s good. The next thing I knew he’d e-mailed everyone the ‘date’. Since then, Aisha, Adam, Rocky, Zack, and Kat have let me know that they’re all able to be here that week. We’re just waiting to hear from the rest. And of course Hayley overheard me telling Jason and contacted Billy, who said he’d be out here in plenty of time before the wedding from Aquitar. And lastly, my parents and my brother can make it.”

“So, I’ll finally meet the mysterious brother you never knew you had, huh?”

“Sam plans to come too, but I’m worried because he’s been ill, and if something happens, David might have to cancel too, but…”

“I’m sure he’ll be taking extra careful care of himself. How could he and David miss this? And the team here will be okay with the timing, right?”

“I don’t see why not. Why do you ask?”

“Well, you know I asked Aisha to be my maid of honor since Trini isn’t here, so I was going to ask Kira to be a bridesmaid.”

“Really?” Tommy asked, surprised.

“Yeah. I mean, she reminds me a lot of Trini, and she and I have so much in common… it just feels right to ask her.”

“Well, knowing the kids, they’ll make a point of coming by to see if you’ve arrived. You can ask her then.”

“So, is there anyone else to invite?”

“Besides our friends, our parents and our brothers?” Tommy questioned.

“Besides them…” she replied with a grin.

“Well, I had a thought…”

“Uh oh.”

“I was thinking of inviting the space ranger team, and a couple of…”

“Rangers, right?” Kim answered for him, smiling.

“Yeah,” he replied sheepishly. “A couple of the red rangers that I met when we went to destroy Serpentera. They really were good guys, and well…”

“We should invite them. Look, I’ll put contacting everyone on my list of things to do…”

Before Kim could say anything else, Tommy turned the corner and she realized that they were at his house.

As Tommy pulled into the driveway he turned to see Kim smiling back at him. Hefting her luggage from the back of the jeep, Tommy walked with Kim at his side to the front door. Boxes were all around the living room.

“So, if these had arrived before you flew to Greece, would you have worried less?” Kim asked with a smirk.

“Of course,” he replied, and when Kim gave him a look, he shrugged and gave her a self-conscious half grin. “Okay, maybe not.”

Kim wandered around the living room as Tommy took her bags into the bedroom. She was home. After a little while, she noticed that Tommy had yet to come out of the bedroom, and wondered if he was putting away her things. As it was, most of them needed to be washed. Heading in to see what he was up to, she turned to find him standing beside the door, staring at her with a heated look that she recognized now only too well.

“How about a proper welcome?” he asked, closing the door behind her, and pulling her tightly to him with a heated kiss.

She wasn’t about to object.

-

After their ‘welcome home’ party, Kim sat looking over her address book as Tommy checked his e-mail again for any more confirmations. They’d briefly discussed the wedding planning, but Kim had told him they had to start today if they were going to be able to pull off the 25th.

“It’s about thirty people, right? That shouldn’t kill our pocketbook too much,” Tommy sighed, thinking of the scaled down wedding they’d probably put together for a few thousand dollars that he really didn’t have to spare, and he wasn’t sure if Kim had in her bank account either.

“I could ask my parents. It is tradition,” Kim reminded him, and he shook his head.

“I want us to do this on our own. I don’t want us asking your dad or your mom for any money to do this, only to have them take over what we want to do or who we invite. We’ll get by.”

As he said it, Kim immediately had a light bulb go of in her head. She’d forgotten…

“Tommy, we can pay for a very nice wedding,” Kim said to him with a knowing grin, realizing that she hadn’t told him about her ‘reward’.

“Of course. I mean I figured that it would be tight depending on how much you’d saved while you were in Boston, but that once you had a new job we could pay it off faster…”

“No, I mean right now. We can plan the wedding we want and not worry about how much it costs,” Kim said simply.

“What, did you win the lottery and not mention it?” Tommy questioned humorously.

“No, I got a performance bonus before I left the US Olympic team’s payroll. USA Gymnastics president Bob Colarossi gave all the assistants and the apparatus coaches one.”

“How much of a bonus?” Tommy asked shocked, thinking perhaps they had an extra grand or two to play with.

“Forty thousand dollars.”

Tommy turned around with a speed born of ranger powers. He stared at the woman before him and tried not to gape. Forty thousand…

“You’re joking!” he exclaimed, dropping the checkbook he had in his hand.

“Nope. I have the check right here,” she replied, moving to find her purse and dig through the contents until she pulled out the bank draft.

“Oh my God… Jesus Kim, this could pay off what’s left of my student loans…”

“Then I guess it’s a good thing that what’s mine is going to be yours in a month.”

“So it seems. I guess that means I have to wear a tux now, huh?” he asked, smiling at her.

“You bet,” Kim stated, walking across the room, check in hand and sat on his lap before kissing him soundly.

-

“So, how about a walk?” Kim asked later in the day, feeling a bit antsy. “I’m sure you have a nice park, or maybe a lake around here. I’m sure with all the trees outside your door there has to be a trail or something…”

“God Kim, you know I’d love to, but I have the first tests of the year to prepare. I sort of put it off…”

Kim rolled her eyes. Seemed that even with the PhD some things never changed. Of course, between his flying to Athens and starting the wedding planning, he really had been sidetracked.

“No problem. I’ll just get back to unpacking…”

Before she could make it halfway across the room to the stack of boxes that she hadn’t gotten to yet, there was a knock at the door.

“Kira, Ethan, Conner! Hey, what’s up? And who’s this with you?” Kim asked as she answered the door, noting the familiar team and the young Hispanic man with them.

“Hey Kim! We heard from Dr. O that you were coming in today, so we thought we’d come by, sort of be the welcoming committee,” Conner announced.

“And this is Trent,” Kira said, reaching back and pulling the Hispanic man forward, who smiled shyly at her. “Trent, this is Kimberly, Dr. O’s… girlfriend. And in her day, one hell of a ranger, from what we’ve heard.”

“Nice to meet you,” Trent said and then eased back to his former place.

“Good to meet you Trent. I’ve heard a lot about you. Sorry about not recognizing you. I should have paid closer attention,” Kim stated, pulling lightly at her shirt in reference to his ‘color’ status being right in front of her face.

“No problem.”

“So, what’s up? You get the grand tour yet?” Ethan questioned, his face lighting up with a huge grin.

Tommy suddenly appeared behind Kim, placing his hand on her shoulder. He watched the team in front of him, all so young and eager. Had he and Kim ever been that young?

“I was going to try to get to what she hasn’t seen this weekend; I’m sort of up to my ears with work right now. Hey, if you guys want, Kim was feeling like getting out. Would you want to show her around?”

“Would we?” Kira asked glowingly, latching onto the former ranger’s arm. “Come on Kim, let’s hit the sights.”

-

Kim walked along the dilapidated path, trying to keep herself occupied while the rangers took on some nasty monster downtown. Kira and the guys had been out showing her the area where they’d found the first three dino gems when they’d had to run off to help stop the latest bad guy. They promised to come back and help direct her back towards Tommy’s… well, her house. She still wasn’t sure where everything was yet.

As she shuffled her feet along the dirt, she found herself missing the days of the old team; when she and Tommy went together when Zedd or Rita was on the warpath.

Not paying attention, she wandered a bit off the path, heading more towards the wooded area, and didn’t see the root from a nearby tree. Her toe caught the edge of it and she found herself pitching forward. Fighting with all the gymnastic abilities still at her disposal, she tucked to roll through the impact, but instead the move gave her too much momentum, and she ended up tumbling down a slight embankment. She nearly tensed as she saw the leaf covered ground rushing up to meet her.

Except the impact she had feared was delayed as the leaves crushed beneath her weight and she crashed through a thin layer of dirt and sticks before going into free fall for a few seconds. Finally, the trip came to an end as she crashed heavily to the dirt and moss. Kim felt the skin of her hands and arms rip as the rocks and other debris cut her as she landed. Beneath her, she felt stones and sticks poking and ripping through her shirt and jeans.

“Damn it!” she swore quietly when she got her breath back, frustrated at being tripped up by a stupid root.

Kim tentatively moved her head, making sure she hadn’t done any significant damage, and then gingerly stood. She looked up and saw that she had to have fallen through a small opening to an underground cave or something. The light coming in from the opening was enough for her to look around her sparse surroundings, looking for an exit. As she stared at the dark colored dirt of the cave walls, she could see flecks of silver and white, and wondered if maybe there was some kind of metal embedded in the sediment. Continuing her slow surveying of the walls, she felt like something was pulling at her, drawing her to another point within the cave. The feeling was like something within her, a place that she’d forgotten existed was being called to. 

Her eyes swept the area carefully when she finally settled on some light colored protrusions embedded in the far wall. The moment she laid eyes on the objects, she felt the feeling increase in her chest. She carefully maneuvered her way across the cave, ignoring the aches and stings from her bleeding scrapes and bruised muscles to move forward. As she got closer, she realized the thing she’d seen was part of a skeleton.

Stopping in front of a half-visible skeletal claw, she started scraping away the dirt surrounding the talons, digging like a dog searching for a bone. After what seemed like forever, Kim felt her hand hit something slightly warm with sharp edges. Without hesitation, she pried the object from the stone and dirt with her fingers and drew it up to the light so she could see it clearly.

“Oh my…”

In her hands glowed a gem... a *pink* gem.

And after seeing the kids and Tommy’s she knew exactly what kind of gemstone it was. 

A dino gem.

It rested in her hand for a moment, and then she felt the infusion of energy. That place where the power had resided all those years ago seemed to expand and bloom with this new power taking up residence. She felt better than she could remember since the day she’d given up the Ninjetti powers to Kat all those years ago. It was almost as if the energy that was flowing into her was healing some unknown cracks within herself.

Once the power seemed to finally settle, Kim smiled at the skeleton pieces in the wall. She couldn’t wait to show Tommy and the team her discovery. But she still had to get out of the cave. Staring at the opening, she wished she had her old powers back, when she could literally jump ten stories. That would be much more than she’d need to get out of the cave.

No sooner than she’d thought of it, she felt her feet start to move away from the floor. Startled, she felt herself start to drop just as suddenly, and she braced for the landing. As her feet came back to the ground, she started to wonder what had just happened.

Then, with an almost literal leap of faith, she pushed up from the dirt and found herself hovering above the ground. 

“Wow…” she murmured under her breath. 

Concentrating, Kim felt her body respond to the power, and she rose towards the opening. The gem had given her the ability to levitate… she could literally walk on air.

Once she made her way through the opening, she guided herself to solid ground and couldn’t help but laugh as her feet touched the grassy area. No longer caring that she wasn’t sure of where the hell she was and how to get back, she turned and ran the way she thought that she’d come from.

-

“What do you mean you don’t know where she is? You said you were going right back to where you’d left Kim before the monster showed up,” Tommy nearly roared, his anger tempered only by his fear.

“We went right back. She wasn’t there. Maybe…” Conner started to say.

“Never mind. We’ll use the scanners to look for…” he stopped in mid-phrase as his students and team mates faces changed to a mixture of shocked, horrified and worried expressions as they looked up and then past him towards the door. 

Noting the lack of attention, he turned and saw that the object of his concern, his missing former gymnast and fiancé had flung open the door and was standing in the doorway looking like she’d been attacked by a patrol of Tyrano-drones.

“Kim…”

The team collectively breathed a sigh of relief as their mentor and teacher forgot about them and rushed forward, throwing his arms around her, uncaring that he and Kim had an audience.

“Did you get attacked? Are you okay?” he asked, his fear now ratcheting down to worry as he stepped back to look at Kim more closely. He paused as he took in the dirty and ripped appearance of her clothes, her face and hands scraped up and he could see the dried brown smudges in places that had been blood.

“No… yes… something, I can’t really explain…” she started, unsure now of how to tell them what she’d discovered.

“I’ve been out of my mind worrying. What happened?” he asked. 

Kim stepped back and everyone stared at her strangely. She’d obviously been banged up somehow. Maybe she wasn’t in her right mind. As it was, Tommy was barely willing to let her hands go, even as she forced the issue by moving out of his reach. He frowned, not liking her pulling away from him, and started to take a step forward when she dropped her eyes to her right side.

“I’m fine,” she stated as she reached into the pocket of her jeans, and carefully pulled her hand out in a fluid move that was nearly invisible under everyone’s scrutiny. “Better than fine actually.”

“Kim?” Tommy queried, his fear returning again.

She smiled at him with a half smirk as she lifted her hand parallel with her chest and then twisted her wrist to show the object sitting in her hand. The pink gemstone glittered with an inner light, catching everyone’s attention.

“Pink,” Kim said simply.

Tommy stood there, his jaw going slack. He wasn’t sure if his feet could actually move, what with the shock that seemed to be paralyzing him. If that was what he thought it was… 

“A dino gem?” asked Ethan, shocked as everyone else.

“Oh my God! Kim’s a ranger again!” Kira yelled and then hurled herself towards the woman she considered a friend and surrogate big sister.

Kim carefully clutched the glowing crystal tightly in her hand as she clasped the younger ranger to her.

“What can I say… pink is in again.”

“Wow!” Conner exclaimed, moving to follow Kira, with Ethan and Trent following. The four rangers circled around the former and once again pink ranger, shaking hands, giving congratulations and all around being supportive and happy.

“Tommy?” Kim said, worriedly. What if he wasn’t happy about her being a ranger again?

The rest of the team broke away and stepped back as Dr. O moved forward. He stood before Kim for a long moment, and then reached forward and pulled her to him, clutching her tightly as he finally said the words he’d neglected to say before, which were now more appropriate than ever.

“Welcome *home* Beautiful.”


	34. The Ranger Bride

“So, you can levitate?” Hayley asked, looking at where Kimberly Hart sat beside her boyfriend and the black ranger in the command center’s basement.

“Yup. That’s how I got out of the cave I fell into.”

“Is that how you got torn up?” Tommy asked curiously as he turned Kim’s hand over in his and gently brushed at the lacerations.

They were finally getting the story from Kim about what had happened. The whole team had decided to put all their questions on hold as they waited for Hayley to join them. Tommy had immediately called her to meet them in the command center cave to help in their search for answers about the pink gem. Now the quartet of young rangers, Tommy, Kim and Haley sat in their respective places around the room. As the resident genius, Hayley sat at the computer terminal, ready to turn and type in any data she needed to; Kim and Tommy sat side by side on a bench Tommy had recently brought in, and Kira, Trent, Ethan and Conner took up their usual places around the area.

“Yeah,” remarked Kim, trying not to rub on the sore spots on her flesh where she was sure she’d be bruised come morning.

“What happened? We went back for you, and you were gone,” Conner asked, upset still at Kim wandering off and the resulting tongue lashing they’d gotten from Dr. O for it.

“I was walking through the forest the team was showing me, trying to find my way back, and well, I wasn’t paying attention and fell down a ravine. That should have been the end of it, but I crashed through a mostly obstructed opening into the cave where the gem was.”

The teens winced and Tommy reached an arm around Kim, who had cleaned up slightly before Hayley had arrived, but still looked like she’d been pretty cut up.

“How did you and Hayley miss this dino gem all this time?” Ethan asked.

“I don’t know,” Hayley said despondently.

“Could large metal deposits interfere with your sensors?” Kim queried.

“Possibly. Why?”

“The cave was filled with some kind of metal ore in the walls. I assumed it was natural deposits of metal, and well…”

“It would screen any scans for the energy signature,” Hayley finished, seeing where Kim was coming from.

“So, what kind of ranger is she?” Kira asked suddenly, feeling a little guilty now that the first pterodactyl ranger wouldn’t be able to be that again.

“You mean what zord is hers?” Conner questioned.

“I think we’ll set her up to be more like Tom,” Hayley noted, realizing that she had some work to do, and then asked, “Kim, can I borrow your gem for a few minutes? I still have to get a morpher, uniform and zord keyed in for you.”

Hayley reached out as Kim handed her the Pink dino gem. The power gem in hand, Hayley got up and moved to a work table. There, she opened up a box with a lone silver cuff. Taking the gem Kim had given her, she placed it on a silver band. After sliding on a pair of safety goggles that reminded Kim of Billy, she melded the metal over the edges of the gem, securing it in place. With a few movements, it turned a bright pink, and then transformed into a morpher, similar to the ones the rest of the team wore, but pink. 

“So, what about Kim’s uniform? If she doesn’t have a specific affiliation…” Ethan questioned, trailing off as he realized he didn’t have an answer for his question to offer as a solution.

“Why don’t you use Kira’s uniform for a template… I hate to admit it but I’d feel strange without a skirt,” Kim suggested and while Kira and Tommy smiled, the guys laughed. “The helmet should be more like Tommy’s; without a definite zord affiliation.”

“I think I can do that.”

“Please tell me that it won’t be neon pink or anything,” Conner groaned, worried about the Technicolor ranger brigade.

“I was going to use the original pink ranger color, if that’s okay with you Kim,” Hayley informed everyone, directing the question to the new pink ranger.

Kim looked at Tommy and felt herself answer the bright smile on his face with one of her own.

“That’s perfect. Only one of us is allowed to change their color more than once a year,” she joked, elbowing the subject of her humor in the ribs.

“Hey, it isn’t my fault that I kept getting new powers that were different colors.”

“Please, spare me. Zordon liked you best, and we *all* knew it.”

“Yeah, like being the *white* ranger while you’re a teenager with hormones was such a *great* thing.”

“Oh my God, too much information,” cried Kira, covering her ears and closing her eyes as she started singing a series of manta-like ‘lalalala’s’ to try and ward off the image as the guys, including the current white ranger cringed and crossed their legs.

Tommy blushed as he realized that he was getting a bit too specific. And just as he was feeling ready to dip his head to hide, Kim caught his cheek and leaned in to kiss him deeply.

“You’re always my white knight handsome. And I’m so glad I can be by your side to watch your back again.”

“It’s not like that wasn’t going to be your job before you found the dino gem,” Tommy reminded her softly.

“What do you mean by that Dr. O?” Conner asked, confused by what he’d overheard their teacher and mentor say.

“I think he was referring to me taking care of him personally,” Kim remarked, and held up her left hand to show off the diamond ring.

Conner, Trent and Ethan stared in shock, and Kira nearly squealed in joy, getting up and running to nearly tackle Kim in a hug while Hayley paused at her task to watch Kim and Tommy be congratulated by the team.

“I’m so glad for you guys!” Kira gushed as Kim hugged the blond back.

“Wow, congrats Dr. O,” said Conner.

“This is so pretty. I can’t believe Dr. O picked it out,” said Kira, staring at the ring as she turned Kim’s hand.

“Hey!” Tommy shouted indignantly. “I have good taste.”

“Hush handsome. He didn’t pick it out. It was his mother’s. His brother mailed to him just recently. He didn’t even give it to me until today.”

“Brother?” Ethan, Conner, Kira and Trent all said together, with Hayley herself turning around to watch Tommy answer this one.

“What?”

“I guess they’re just as surprised as I was when I heard about David,” Kim remarked with a small smirk.

“Well, when I found out about David, you and I weren’t speaking, so I had an excuse for you finding out from Jason,” complained Tommy.

“So, he’ll be here for the wedding?” Kira asked.

“You’ll actually get to meet a lot of people around then… David, a lot of our friends who served as rangers, and some other ones too,” Tommy explained.

“Wow, that will be wild,” Ethan remarked. “A ranger wedding.”

“Yeah, well, that’s still a while off. How about we focus on the here and now,” Hayley remarked, her face focused on Kim. “It’s time to officially saddle up.”

With that, she handed Kim the silver morpher bracelet, and Kim smiled. Sliding the cuff onto her arm, she felt as if she was coming full circle – she was the pink ranger again, and she was with Tommy. It was almost as if fate had returned her to the moment when she’d made the choice to leave… letting her fix things to the way they should have been.

“Come on Kim, let’s see that old school ranger style,” called Conner boisterously.

Glancing briefly to Tommy, he quickly caught and squeezed her hand lightly before urging her up. Standing before everyone in the basement, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. The power of the dino gem filled her, as did Tommy’s love, and she opened her eyes to watch the assembled rangers anxiously, breathlessly watching.

“Dino Thunder, Power Up!” she called, stepping into an open stance, her right hand reaching over to her left wrist, placing her fingers on the face of the morpher that had appeared at her words. 

Instinct kicked in and her fingers hit the controller exactly right, her body filling with the energy of the morpher and the dino gem, and she felt the molecules of her clothes being replaced with her uniform. As the light around her glowed bright pink, she felt her helmet slide and latch into place.

It was over in seconds, and Kim looked out at the awed and happy faces through the smoky glass of her visor. Tommy was up and by her side before she had a second to pop the latches. As she eased the helmet off, she found him taking it from her and placing a hand to her cheek before he lightly kissed her lips.

“So, I don’t look silly?” she stammered once Tommy’s mouth left hers.

“I’d nearly forgotten how good you look in uniform,” he replied in an awestruck, passionate tone.

“Alright you too, wait until the children go home,” chuckled Hayley as she moved into oversee her handiwork.

Kim took that time to look over her new uniform. It did look like the general team armor – spandex-like tights and top, with a skirt like Kira’s. The boots and gloves were pink as well, and the diamonds that ran along her legs and arms were white. As Hayley looked over her helmet communications, she glanced at the morpher.

“It’s a Stegazord?”

Tommy and the teens all started at that, the rest of the rangers getting up to look at the pink stegazord morpher on Kim’s wrist.

“It seemed the best fit,” remarked Hayley as she handed Kim back the helmet and looked at the morpher on Kim’s wrist, twisting it slightly as she checked out the mechanisms. 

“She’s right. I mean, I know you’d be happier with a zord like the pterodactyl, but the stegosaurus was a protective dinosaur that was fierce in defending their young and their territory,” explained Tommy, realizing the truth in Hayley’s choice.

“Well, I’m all for that. And the helmet is cool. At least I can see out of it.”

Everyone laughed, and Kim just shrugged.

“Well, I guess its official then. Welcome back Kim,” said Hayley, standing back as the rest of the team moved to embrace the old/new pink ranger.

-x-

The following day found the ranger women making their way through the downtown, driving in Hayley’s silver Corolla as they drove to look at the selection of dresses at the bridal shops that Reefside had available, which totaled two. It was the last day before school started, and Kira would be spending her days with Tommy and the others in classes at Reefside high, so Kim had asked them to go with her and try to start the shopping with the really hard decision of finding the right dress.

“Thanks for coming with me guys,” Kim said to Kira and Hayley. “I wish Aisha could help, but she can’t leave work until the week of the wedding.”

“Well I’m more than happy to help,” stated Hayley, still unsure of where she and Kim stood, but willing to try and find out.

“Me too,” remarked Kira as Hayley parked the car and they piled out, headed for the first store.

“More than anything, I’m just glad that Tom is finally going to be happy,” Hayley said as the three of them walked into the bridal shop.

“Are you sure you aren’t being nice about Kim and Dr. O getting hitched because of Billy?” Kira asked with a smirk as Kim turned into the shop, the two of them following.

“Maybe,” Hayley said hesitantly, but couldn’t force away the smile that sprung to her lips at the thought of the former blue ranger. With the wedding, he’d be back, and this time he’d promised to stay for longer than a day, so they could spend some time real time together and explore their relationship further.

“When is Billy getting back from Aquitar?”

“The Wednesday the week before the wedding.”

“Should I even ask where he’s staying?” Kim joked, having eavesdropped on part of the conversation.

Hayley blushed slightly, and Kim winked at Kira. Then they headed into the racks of dresses. After an exhaustive search, they found several dresses, mostly size two that they thought Kim could fit, even though the woman in question was surprised at the size.

“You think they’ll really fit?”

“Just try one on,” insisted Hayley. “Hurry before the sale clerk comes over and offers to help.”

With that, Kim took the first dress into the dressing room to try on. Ten minutes later, she emerged to wide eyes.

“Well?” Kim asked, holding up the length of the dress as she walked out wearing the pale pink sheath dress that they’d decided on first. It bunched around her feet at the floor, and would need to lose at least a foot of fabric before it fit her right.

“Wow, that’s so elegant looking,” Kira remarked.

“It’s very simple, but pretty too,” offered Hayley. “I’m not sure though… maybe something with a fitted bodice?” 

“Anything to give me a bust line, please!” said Kim emphatically.

Kira and Hayley laughed and then turned back to the stack of dresses that they’d pulled previously, pulling out a dress with a corset style top with thin spaghetti straps and a full floor length skirt that they’d all thought was stunning.

“Try this,” Kira said, nearly thrusting the dress at Kim.

Heading back into the dressing room, Kim carefully climbed out of the first dress and into the second. It was a little harder getting into this one, but she managed. Kim came back out, and twirled carefully before her friends. The pink blush color of the satin dress was simple, and again after hacking off the excess length to accommodate Kim’s petite size, it would fit the rest of her proportions properly.

“You think Tommy will like this?” she asked as she came out of the stall.

“I think that we’ll have to have a paramedic on site to revive him after he has a heart attack,” joked Kira as she looked at Kim in the dress. 

“It’s beautiful,” confirmed Hayley, nodding her head and smiling her approval.

“I’m still torn. I liked the pale pink sheath I tried on too. And maybe they might have some other choices at the other shop…”

“Well, you don’t have to decide today, right?” Kira questioned.

“No, but soon. I’ll need it the week of the 25th.”

“What about the bridesmaid dresses?” asked Hayley, curious.

Kim looked around and noticed the sales clerk had gone off to assist another customer by pulling out some veils for them to try on, and they were alone in their section of the dressing rooms.

“It’s a ranger wedding,” Kim said, “everyone will wear their own color.”

Kira smiled. Kim had asked her to be a bridesmaid before going on this dress expedition. She’d been surprised, and had asked if one of Kim’s other friends or another ranger shouldn’t have that honor. But Kim had insisted that the people that belonged at her side were Aisha, Kira and of course Trini in spirit.

That had been enough to table the conversation.

“Besides, you can’t tell the ranger without the color,” Kim joked. As it was, there’d be more rangers in one room than ever before.

As Kim turned again in front of the mirror, both her and Kira’s communicators chimed, and they looked at one another; Kira with a sense of duty but disappointment, Kim with a smile of happiness.

“Dresses can wait. Time to go kick butt.”

With that, Kim hurried back into the dressing room and shimmied out of the dress. Throwing on her own things, she ducked out and she and Kira made their way outside. As Hayley finished up in the store, the ranger women found themselves in the middle of the street. Kira pointed beside the store where there was an alley. Quickly the two made their way into it, and after check for bystanders, called forth their morphers.

“Dino Thunder, Power up!” called out Kim and Kira, with the younger ranger throwing in the “hah!” that all the team, except for Tommy used.

Once the two stood in their armor, Kim looked at the yellow ranger, her puzzled and amused look hidden by her helmet.

“Hah? What’s that all about?” she questioned.

Kira shrugged. She knew that she, Conner and Ethan were the only ones that morphed that way. Maybe it was a team thing… she didn’t even remember how it had started. Still, Kim and Dr. O were doing things old school ranger style, which was fine… she was the new generation.

Their communicators chimed again, and Kira touched her stone, opening the connection. As soon as she did, they could hear Tommy’s voice, “Anytime you’d like to join us, we could use some help at the pier.”

“Come on Kim, let’s go!” yelled Kira, leading the way out of the alley and to their destination.

The two set off on foot, quickly making their way across town to the site of the guys’ call. Surrounding them near the waterfront was a horde of tyrano-drones, and in fierce combat with Tommy and Conner was a huge penguin/spider like monster. Launching herself into the air, Kim caught the air like she was walking on solid ground. She sped over the battle to where Tommy was.

“You know, I miss being able to teleport,” Kim said as she gracefully landed beside Tommy and brought her laser pistol to bear on the beak of the monster bird in front of her, firing at it and producing a small burst of flame and explosion, but not felling it.

“Me too. Sorry to tear you away from your shopping,” he joked with her favorite leader voice as he leveled a devastating power kick to the monster, staggering it.

“Too much quipping, not enough monster mashing,” complained Conner, bringing down his power sword on the right side of the penguin/spider thing, throwing sparks and sending it flying.

“You think maybe Triassic power might help?” Kira asked, landing from her gliding powers and coming to a stop at Conner’s side.

“Sounds like an idea. How about the two of us,” Tommy said, indicating to Kim, “go help the white ranger and send back the blue to you?”

“Great!” 

Turning towards the others holding their own with the tyrano-drones, Kim and Tommy hurried to their side. As Kim came to a stop by Trent, happily executing a snap kick to the face of the closest drone, she gave a thumbs up signal to the younger man.

Tommy stopped by Ethan, and decided to level his Bracho Staff against the four drones threatening to swarm Ethan. 

“Bracho Staff, Wind Strike,” he called out, slamming the end of the staff to the ground and producing a wave of air like a hurricane at the advancing beasts. As soon as the air hit them, they flew past Ethan and across the pier into the water. “Go help the others!”

Ethan nodded, knowing that for Conner to have Triassic power, he and Kira had to work together. And he had no doubt that between Dr. O, Kim and Trent, the rest of the tyrano-drones would be history in no time.

While Trent, Kim and Tommy wiped the docks with the tyrano-drones, Conner called on the Shield of Triumph, and with the power borrowed from Kira and Ethan, quickly dispatched the monster. Before the pieces could fall, they all heard the crack of thunder, and the sky went black, dark droplets of rain falling on the destroyed monster. Suddenly the pieces reconstituted and grew, dwarfing the rangers and the buildings around them.

“I hate this part,” grumbled Kim under her breath. “Won’t these bad guys ever accept defeat the *first* time?”

“Doubtful,” replied Tommy before he turned to call for the Brachiozord.

From the South, the ground started to shake, and within moments, the huge black and gold form of Tommy’s zord appeared. Kim tried not to gape.

“Not bad, huh?” he asked with a smirk, his tone almost proud.

“Hayley does good work,” she fired back, making him tip his helmet at her, his visor low enough that she could tell that he was mock-glaring at her from the movement. “Okay, your zord is cool.”

Suddenly the compartments on the top and both sides popped open, releasing the other zords, including a stegazord that was now pink instead of purple. 

“Come on guys, let’s finish this,” announced Trent, his own Dragonzord flying in to join the others.

Conner lifted his hand to the sky, and he, Kira, Ethan and Trent all rose into the air and up into their zords. Once inside, they shifted, starting the process of merging, and finally a huge Dino Rage Megazord stood before Tommy and Kim. 

It didn’t take Conner and the team long to finish off the overgrown monster, and once it disintegrated in a blast of sparks and lightning, the team made their way back to solid ground while the zords ‘packed up’ and headed back to their hiding place.

“Great job team,” Tommy announced, and Conner and Ethan high-fived in their uniforms.

Looking around, Kira noticed they were clear, and decided it was time to get back to normal.

“Power down?” she asked, and Tommy nodded, prompting everyone to unmorph.

“So, how was being back in the game Kim?” Conner asked after they unmorphed.

“Like I was never gone,” she answered simply, looking at Tommy warmly.

They’d really come full circle.

“Alright, anyone for dinner? I’ll call out for pizza, as a’ last chance before classes start on Monday’ treat for a job well done,” announced Tommy, feeling magnanimous, both with Kim’s presence and her bonus check filing up their checking accounts.

“Yeah!” echoed Conner, Trent and Ethan, all hurrying along the pier and in the direction of Tommy and Kim’s place. “Come on Dr. O, you gotta call the order in.”

With the boys urging, Tommy hurried up to catch up with them, leaving Kira and Kim to pull up the rear of the team.

“So,” Kim said, as she and Kira walked behind the guys as they headed back to the house, basement command center, and pizza, “what do you think: the corset dress or the sheath?”

Kira laughed, and Kim joined her, looping her arm over the younger woman’s shoulder.

Yes, it was good to finally be back where she belonged.


	35. Two is Company, Six is a Team

Kim woke up and sleepily squinted at the soft rays of early morning dawn’s light coming through the window. It was on the opposite side of the room from where it usually was. Confused, she turned over and rolled into Tommy’s body, taking up two-thirds of the large queen bed, and she smiled, remembering where she was.

It had been just about two weeks since she’d gotten off the plane in Reefside, and she was still getting settled into her new life. Waking up every day next to Tommy was one of the highlights of her days, though it was still stunning to her that they’d finally gotten here.

And then there was the fact that she was part of the team again.

It was still unbelievable that not only had she found her way back to Tommy, and they were getting married, but that she’d gotten the second chance to serve at his side again, taking back her pink ranger mantle. She sighed as she realized how luck she was to have this, *all* this in her life, and then turned and snuggled into Tommy’s side, waking him up slightly. 

“Huh?” he mumbled, his eyes barely opening to register the petite brunette snuggling into him.

“Just me handsome. It’s still early, you don’t have to get up for class for another hour. Go back to sleep,” she replied, throwing an arm across his chest.

Realizing that Kim was there, cuddling up with him, he turned into her, wrapping his arms around her and tucking her head beneath his chin. Wrapped up in one another, they fell back to sleep, contented.

-x-

“So, do we order the chocolate boxes with the imprinted ribbon, or are you willing to let me wait until the last minute and con Aisha, Kira and my mom into helping make wedding favors?” Kim asked later that day from her chair at the kitchen table where she had stacks of brochures and lists piled around her as she tried to get everything they needed done for the wedding.

Tommy looked up at her over his glasses from his side of the table where he was going over his first week’s worth of completed quizzes and homework assignments. He didn’t recall his brain being so much of a sieve when he was in high school that he forgot everything he’d learned the year before, but… He frowned and looked for a moment like he was going to make a decision, and then he broke the facade. 

“I’m sorry Kim. I really didn’t hear a word of what you just asked.”

Shaking her head, she smiled at him. She wasn’t surprised. Between the stacks of papers he was trying to grade before they took some time off, the continued threat of Mesogog and the unending wedding details she feared she’d taxed Tommy’s memory, patience and attention span far too much.

“It’s okay handsome,” she said, getting up from her seat at the kitchen table to walk to his, leaning over his shoulder to look over the papers he had set up in stacks around him, one pile for unfinished quizzes, one for unfinished homework, and a matching pair of piles on the other side that were graded. “You know, I don’t think you realized that you’d get *more* paperwork as a teacher, did you?”

“I guess I didn’t. I swear it wasn’t this bad last year… or maybe I forgot that it was,” he replied with a half smile as he turned to look at her, reminding himself of how lucky he was that she was there, both as his fiancé and as his team mate.

The phone suddenly rang, and Tommy reached over from where he was at the table and picked it up. He hit the talk button and brought it to his ear, wondering who would be calling…

“Hello?”

Kim watched as he listened to whomever was on the line, and then his eyes lit up slightly as he turned towards her.

“Yes, she’s here.” Holding out the phone, Tommy covered the mouthpiece with his hand and whispered, “its Reefside Gymnastics Academy.”

Kim took the phone and gave Tommy a sly smile. Obviously she’d been right in her assessment that after the games were over, her resume would reappear at the top of the list of applicants at the gymnastics center.

“Hello, this is Kim Hart,” she said into the phone.

Tommy smiled as he heard her, imaging her introducing herself as Kim Oliver in just a few weeks. He watched her nod and murmur simple yeses and uh huhs before she thanked them for calling. He watched her intently as she hung up the line.

“Well?”

“I may just have a job,” Kim said brightly.

Tommy smiled at her, happy at the prospect of Kim having the chance to teach what she loved and not have to sacrifice the kind of career she deserved because she’d decided to be with him. 

“Do you have to go in to interview?”

“She asked if I’d mind coming in to ‘talk’ later in the week, which usually means they made up their mind already and want to negotiate salary. I guess my credentials were impressive enough to let me skip all the interviewing.”

“I think they’d be crazy to turn down the opportunity to hire a world class gymnastics coach. I mean, what, a team silver, individual gold for Carly in the all around, and then four more individual event medals… your team kicked ass Kim.”

Kim smiled and tried not to laugh. It wasn’t like she’d done it all on her own, but in Tommy’s eyes, she was the reason that the team had done so well. And maybe, she thought, he needed to think that way to justify his letting her go back to Boston to coach the team and take them to the games when all she’d wanted to do was stay after he’d been released from his amber prison…

“Anyway, I have a couple of days until the appointment. Which means more time to deal with wedding details,” she sighed and moved back to her chair, hanging up the phone on her way.

“You know I’d love to help you more Beautiful, but classes are already driving me crazy. As it is, if I’m not prepared every day, they’ll eat me alive.”

She laughed at that, and then gave him a sultry half smile and raised her eyebrows, saying, “They can’t do that… it’s my job.”

The innuendo wasn’t lost on Tommy, and he smiled at her, moving his chair back slightly as he considered either pushing the papers and brochures on the floor to take Kim right there on the table or walk around and lead her into their bedroom. Instead, as he took off his glasses, tossing them to the table as he started to get up, both his metal wristband and hers started their chime, and they broke out into laughter.

“So, I guess that it won’t be dates that get interrupted now, huh?” she remarked flippantly as she nearly jumped out of her seat and moved to the trap door in their kitchen floor.

Tommy met her there, helping to pull the wooden door open, and they hurried down the stairs. Tommy sat at the keyboard as Kim leaned on the back of his chair while he keyed in the coordinates of the rest of the team. Once he found the rest of the rangers, he pulled them up on the panel screen before them. On the view screen, they saw Kira, Trent, Ethan and Conner, already in uniform surrounded by tyrano-drones at the civic center.

“Time to go?” Kim asked with a smile.

“Back to action,” he tossed back and they smiled more broadly. 

“Dino Thunder, Power Up!” they called out, transforming into their uniforms and then hurrying out the back entrance of the cave and speeding to where the rest of the team was already in battle.

When they arrived, Conner, Kira, Trent and Ethan were already starting to lose ground as more tyrano-drones seemed to appear out of nowhere. Quickly they jumped into battle, taking on whatever they could in the hopes of evening the odds a bit more in their favor. 

“I have to say, they seem to make foot soldiers pretty much the same, no matter who the alien evil is,” Kim joked, flipping end over end as she tumbled to an area populated with tons of tyrano-drones and Kira, Trent and Ethan, doing their best to fend off their attackers, who seemed to just keep coming.

“You should see the tripto things… they’re weird. I mean, they look like eyes on legs,” Kira remarked to the newly arrived pink ranger as she punched the closest opponent, and then leapt over the crumpled body to land a solid two-foot hit on another one.

“These guys though… they’re always bad news. All spiney,” stated Ethan, blocking an attack with his armored skin, and then followed up with a roundhouse kick, and pressed his attack as he advanced onto another drone.

Tommy and Conner stood at another corner, taking on all comers, which seemed to be a lot. They whittled through them, Conner’s speed only matched by Tommy’s skill. Kim defended against a blow towards her head, and then attacked a drone right in front of her with a snap kick, sending it sprawling. She quickly noticed that the tide was turning and most of their opponents were either defeated or focusing now on Tommy and Conner.

“Come on… the fun’s over there,” Kim said, pointing at Tommy and Conner, and then launched herself off the ground and literally ran on air over the heads of the tyrano-drones, who all paused and looked up in shock and awe.

“You know, I think I’m jealous,” grumbled Kira, leaping into the air, her wings letting her glide part way to Conner and Dr. O, but she had to land once before running the rest of the way. 

Ethan however had to weave his way through the stunned bad guys. When he finally arrived where Kim had simply floated herself to, he nudged her with an elbow, and tossed a half-hearted remark, “show off.”

“Please… like I didn’t earn cool powers?” Kim threw back as she jumped forward, landing a staggering blow to an advancing drone with a closed fist.

“Old school… I can do that,” announced Tommy, launching himself into a flurry of kicks and chops, sending another three drones down and out, or flying across the civic center’s garden area.

“Oh no you two don’t. We’re not getting shown up by two ‘old’ rangers,” Conner announced, and he quickly zipped through another three tyrano-drones, sending them to the ground.

“Ha! I can do better than that,” quipped Kira, “hold your ears!”

Suddenly the area directly in front of Kira was blasted with her sonic terra scream, sending half the remaining dozen drones to the paved stone of the pathways. The rest were finally smart enough to get out of dodge while they could, catching a portal that appeared out of nowhere and disappearing.

“Okay, you guys are good. And us old rangers needed you to save our butts,” declared Kim, humor evident in her voice as she acknowledged the new ranger’s skills.

“Speak for yourself Beautiful. I could have taken them,” Tommy said somewhat despondently. 

“You always say that,” she remarked with a smile that he could hear in her voice even if he couldn’t see it on her face. “How many times did we have to save you because you were sure you could handle things?”

“And do I need to remind you who Zordon had rescue the original power coins when you handed them over to save your families?”

Kim sighed and raised her hands in surrender. No matter what, they always seemed evenly matched. The years of being rangers together had given them both experiences where they’d saved one another, and the team. And that was what had bonded them eternally, along with the connection, the love that they shared as well. 

“Are we clear, ‘cause I really would like to get out of this helmet, and I need to get back to work, or Hayley will be overwhelmed,” asked Trent, rolling his shoulders as he listened to Kim and Dr. O get all reminiscing on them.

After checking around that the area was empty and there weren’t any video cameras, they all unmorphed. As soon as they were back in their civilian clothes, Kim and Tommy gravitated to one another again, this time holding hands.

“Later guys, I gotta go,” said Trent, heading off to the downtown and to the cybercafé.

“So, when are the guests getting here for the wedding?” Kira asked, after Trent had headed off.

“Uh… sooner than I’m prepared for,” commented Kim uneasily. “As it is, I still have way too much to do.”

“Need any help?” Ethan asked, and Conner, Kira and Tommy all turned to stare at him. “What?”

“You want to help Kim work on wedding details?” Conner asked, shocked.

“Hey, I have some cool project management software. I could help organize everything by date and time it has to be done so there isn’t any wasted time.”

“Okay, now that’s cool,” Kira remarked, impressed.

“That might be a good idea Kim. Especially for me…” Tommy remarked, giving her a patented Oliver look of ‘my crappy memory could use the help’.

“Alright. Anyone else want to help me find a place for the reception and pick out decorations and music?”

“Me!” shouted Kira, laughing as she grabbed hold of Kim’s arm.

“Joy… please tell me I don’t have to help too,” Conner complained.

“Well, you could always help Hayley and Trent out with the diagnostics on the raptor cycles in the basement this afternoon. Or a novel idea would be to do your homework and study,” suggested Tommy, his arm swinging with Kim’s as they walked, and Kira and Ethan stifled laughter at Conner’s expense. 

As they headed back to the command center, Conner tried to focus on Dr. O’s comments, but instead found himself thinking about Kim’s venue dilemma. Why did he think he had a solution…

“Hey, how about the Cyberspace for the reception?” suggested Conner suddenly, snapping his fingers with the crystallization of his idea and bringing everyone up short.

Kim looked to Tommy, and he shrugged. He’d never thought to ask, but the Cyberspace did have a large enough area, stereo system, live band stage and once the place was opened up and redesigned with some rented tables and chairs, it could work.

“We could ask,” he said.

“Wouldn’t it put a dent in her income?” Kim asked, concerned. She liked Hayley; in her own right, because Tommy cared for her as a friend and also because one of her dearest friends was dating her.

“I’m sure she’d be cool with it,” Kira informed them, and being the one who performed there often enough, she would know if it really was possible.

“We could offer her some rental fee or something to compensate her,” Tommy suggested.

“Let’s table this until we talk with her,” Kim remarked.

“You can ask her later when she and Trent are in the basement,” Tommy remarked and Kim nodded.

“So, now that you’ve figured out when to talk to Hayley about the site, how about you tell me when I should bring over that software?” Ethan asked, coming up to walk beside Tommy and giving her a puppy-dog look, making Kim smile.

“You know, I think they’re really way too invested in our love life,” Kim joked, and while Tommy sighed and gave her a look that said ‘I told you so’, everyone laughed as they started towards the downtown.

-x-

Trent and Hayley had been tuning up the red and yellow raptor cycles for less than ten minutes after they’d arrived from closing up the café when they heard the trap door to Tommy and Kim’s kitchen open.

“We have company,” Trent announced, and Hayley threw back her messy red hair and nodded with a grin as she saw Tommy and Kim come down the stairs.

Hayley had to admit that ever since Kim had moved in with Tommy and become the pink dino thunder ranger, things between everyone had somehow seemed to fully gel. It was as if Tommy and Kim anchored the team more solidly than Tommy alone had.

And on the personal level, she’d finally come to a place where she was happy with her life: she had Billy coming back in a few days, and she was a prosperous business woman. And the added bonus where she got to help the power rangers was one that she had to say was on the top of her list of accomplishments. 

“Hey Hayley,” Kim said, walking through the room and over to where the woman was cleaning up from working on the bikes.

“Kim,” Hayley replied, curious at the reasoning for the pink ranger coming down when there wasn’t really anything to do.

“I, well we had a question,” Kim said, looking back at Tommy, who had gotten sidetracked with something on the monitor. “We’re looking for a place to have the wedding reception, and well, would you let us rent the Cyberspace?”

Trent and Hayley both looked at Kim in surprise.

“You… you guys want to hold your wedding reception at the café?” she asked, shocked.

“I mean, we’ll pay you, just tell me how much you want to charge for the day…” Kim stammered, feeling like maybe it was a bad idea to have asked Hayley if they could use the space.

“No!” Hayley nearly shouted, and Tommy turned in his seat at the console to stare while Kim fought to not frown at Hayley’s refusal.

“It’s okay… we understand…” Kim started, but Hayley cut her off quickly, reaching over to catch Kim’s hands.

“No, I mean yes, I’d be honored if you’d have the reception there. I was just so shocked, and when you wanted to offer to pay for the time, it’s just silly…” Hayley blurted out, smiling. “Kim, Tommy has been my friend for so long, and while you and I both know I was worried about you hurting him again, and yeah, my own petty jealousy, you have made him happy… I can see that you’re right together. And like Kira said the other day, because of you and Tommy, I have Bill in my life. So yes, you can have the Cyberspace, with my complements, no charge!”

Kim stood there in utter surprise. She hadn’t expected that, and the graciousness that Hayley had shown… it was just beyond what she could have hoped for.

She known deep down that she liked Hayley. When they’d first met when Tommy had been imprisoned in amber by the evil white ranger, the claws had started to come out. But somewhere in her dedication and overwhelming concern for Tommy, she noticed that Hayley’s animosity had faded. She knew that the red-haired genius had recently admitted to Tommy and the others of her college crush, but with Tommy being with her, Hayley had finally ended up looking elsewhere, and had found a ranger who could truly appreciate her – Billy.

Which brought Kim back to the thing that Hayley had said that had thrown her the most.

“Bill?” Kim said with a raised eyebrow.

Hayley flushed slightly, her cheeks turning a slightly paler color of red than her hair.

“You know that we’re both really happy for both of you, right?” Kim said, smiling at Hayley.

“Bill says that you have been a good friend to him for years… and that I should let you be one to me.”

“Well, he’s not a genius for nothing.”

Hayley smiled, and then Kim moved forward, pulling her hands from Hayley’s and embracing the other woman like she would any of her female friends. As soon as Kim’s arms wrapped around her, Hayley let herself return the hug. Beyond them, Trent and Tommy watched the two women fully and completely become friends.

Finally the two women eased away from each other, the new friendship and respect showing in their eyes and their posture.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” replied Hayley happily.

“Well, now that that’s all settled, I have to go and call the caterer, florist and bakery and give them the location for the reception. You guys have fun,” said Kim, walking over to where Tommy was sitting at the console and briefly kissing him before running up the stairs and to the phone.

As Tommy watched her go, he realized that while the relationship they had was truly theirs, he shared her with not only the world, but with the team.

And he had to think that they all were incredibly lucky to have her looking out for them.


	36. Party Like Rangers

There had been a flurry of phone calls as Tommy and Kim’s friends started arriving in Reefside, checking into the local hotels in preparation for the preliminary events to the wedding. The first was the ‘ranger reunion’ and then the following two days would be the bachelor and bachelorette parties… set up by Aisha and Jason.

The ranger get-together Tommy and Kim had set up as a welcome to Reefside thing was everyone’s first meeting before the parties really got started. They really hadn’t planned on doing anything, but the fact that all their friends were coming to town for *their* wedding made them feel like they should have some kind of ‘team’ get together. Plus, Kira, Trent, Conner and Ethan had practically begged them to have the party so they could meet the original teams.

So now, in less than two hours, Tommy and Kim’s house was going to be full beyond belief with their friends and former rangers. And to accommodate everyone, most of the party was taking place downstairs. 

“Are you sure this was a good idea?” Kim asked nervously, as she made her way down the stairs into the huge expanse of the basement with another tray of food. 

“Come on Kim, you know you’re looking forward to this as much as everyone else is,” Tommy replied where he was piling beer and soft drinks into the coolers they’d set up downstairs. “I mean, when was the last time we all saw each other…”

As soon as the words left his mouth, he wished he could take it back. They were always going to be one ranger short at these kind of things…

“You’re right,” she said, her voice barely registering the emotion he was sure was filling her. “It has been too long since we’ve all been together. And at least *this* reunion is a good one.”

He caught her eyes and saw the assurance that she was okay in the doe brown of her gaze. Missing Trini was something that was never going to go away, but the pain did dull as time went on. Nodding, he turned to break open the next bag of ice.

“Where are the kids? They said they’d come and help…” complained Tommy just as they heard the back door of the cave slide open and the exuberant sounds of four teenagers hit them.

“We’re here, the party can officially start,” announced Ethan.

“Guys, no one’s even here yet. We’re helping set up, remember?” Trent commented, jabbing Ethan in the ribs before Conner gave him a playful shove forward.

“Yeah, but still, this isn’t just a reunion for all the rangers that are here for Dr. O and Kim’s wedding, it’s also our introduction to our predecessors. So behave,” Conner stated seriously.

Ignoring the insanity that was the testosterone-laden rangers, Kira went to see if she could help Kim bring food downstairs.

“All right, everyone take a task; chairs and tables need to get set up, the stereo needs to get loaded with CD’s, and all the food and drink needs to be set out. Kira’s obviously helping Kim with the food, so Ethan, technical duty is yours – get the stereo done; Conner and Trent, the manual labor is yours,” Tommy announced, pulling bottles of beer and setting them into the next empty cooler.

“On it!” announced the three male rangers, as they headed for their tasks. 

-x-

Less than an hour later, the place looked like a party was happening there. All the tables were up, filled with snacks, party trays, plates and cups. They had stocked a variety of beers and sodas, and the chairs were spread out in small groups around the room, but could easily be picked up and moved. In the background, music played. Kim leaned into Tommy as they looked over the place, finally feeling like they were ready to have everyone show up.

“I guess it’s just a waiting game,” Kim remarked, and then started as they heard the door bell ring upstairs. Quickly, she headed for the stairs as Tommy stopped to glare at his students.

“Remember, no beer… its bad enough your parents don’t know you’re here. The last thing I need is to lose my teaching job for you drinking in my home,” Tommy told the teens, and they all rolled their eyes, as if his reminding them was stupid. “I’m going up, you can hang out down here while everyone shows up…”

Before they knew it, he was upstairs and facing the first of their guests… the one he should have known was going to be there first.

“Jase!”

“Hey bro!” Jason said, pulling away from where he’d been standing with his arm around Kim’s shoulder and grasping his friend in a bear hug. “I was just looking at your good taste. Glad you finally got that ring where it belongs.”

Releasing one another, Tommy smirked at his best friend and gave him a light punch to his shoulder.

“Smart ass. Besides, you knew I was asking Kim,” Tommy said sarcastically.

“Frankly, I still don’t know what she sees in you. I’m much better looking than you,” Jason joked, and felt a hand slap him upside the head.

Turning, he found Kim standing there with her hands on her hips and a fierce look on her face. Jason quickly held up his hands in surrender.

“Don’t hurt him Kim… he still has to pay for the bachelor party,” Tommy said laughingly, and her face softened.

“So, where’s the party?” Jason asked, and the doorbell rang again before Tommy could answer. 

Kim was closest, and opened the door to find Zack, Tanya and Kat standing there, all sporting nearly matching smiles.

“Kim!” yelled Zack, heading forward and grabbing Kim around the waist and hugging her.

“Zack! Hey, whoa, don’t squish me,” she joked and returned the embrace. 

Once he released her, Zack went to shake hands with Jason and Tommy while Kim welcomed Tanya and Kat. Closing the door behind them, Kat and Tanya greeted Jason and Tommy, everyone starting to chat when a knock was heard at the door, rather than the bell.

Choosing to shift duties, Tommy broke from the group of guests and went to Kim’s side, pushing her lightly back towards their friends.

Tommy opened his door and found his jaw dropping.

“Aisha!” Tommy yelled as the dark skinned African American woman hurled herself at him from the doorstep. 

“God Tommy, you look good!” she announced, hugging him fiercely, her hair bouncing around her shoulders in its style of cornrows that always made him wonder how she fit it under her helmet. 

Quickly Aisha let him go and pulled away, looking through the other people to find her best friend and headed for her.

“Kim!”

“’sha!”

The two ran to each other in the middle of the living room, embracing happily. It had been nearly two years since they’d spent any length of time together, Kim’s last vacation having been spent visiting Aisha in Chicago.

“Wow girlfriend, you look good. I guess finally landing that man of yours agrees with you,” Aisha laughed, and then pulled back to grab a hold of her best friend’s hand. “Nice rock Kim. I guess he’s a keeper after all.”

Kim groaned and yanked her hand away, trying not to get too annoyed at the bad sense of humor of one of her closest friends. Before she could say another word, the doorbell rang again. This time Tommy was closest, and he opened the door to reveal Rocky and Adam, both wearing matching shirts – Rocky’s red with white writing and Adam’s green with black writing reading ‘We owe Jason twenty bucks’.

Tommy started laughing, knowing exactly what the shirts meant, as did Zack. Jason though decided to let everyone else in on the joke.

“That you do. You should have both known our fearless leader wouldn’t be able to wait to pop the question till Kim got into town!” Jason said loudly in front of everyone, as way of explanation.

“You bet on when Tommy was going to ask Kim to marry him?” Aisha questioned Rocky and Adam, shocked. 

“Yeah, well…” Adam stammered as he came in to hug his childhood friend while Rocky hugged first Tommy and then Kim.

“I’m not surprised either of you bet, just that you didn’t know enough about these two to not bet smarter,” ‘sha ribbed, and everyone laughed.

“That I guess goes double for you,” Kim threw at Zack. They’d been friends since grade school… he should have known better.

“What can we all say… Jase had insider information. Hell, if he’d told us that Tommy had called him about your ring before the bet, I would have been twenty bucks richer,” replied Zack, grabbing hold of Jason by the neck and mock wrestling with him as everyone laughed and started to catch up.

“So is that everybody?” Tommy asked, looking around the room and counting heads.

“I think so. The other rangers and guests aren’t coming in until tomorrow, and Justin isn’t coming at all… National Security and all,” related Rocky, referring to the young blue turbo ranger who had taken his place so many years ago and now worked for the NSA is some job he couldn’t talk about for the government.

“What about Billy?” questioned Tanya from where she and Kat were catching up with Aisha.

“I would expect that he’s already downstairs,” Kim remarked with a knowing smile, expecting that he and Hayley would probably arrive together and through the ‘back’ door.

“Well, let’s go down and get the party started. For those of you that haven’t been here yet, we have people for you to meet and lots of surprises,” Tommy announced, waving an arm above his head and pushing through the gathered former rangers to head to the kitchen.

“Okay, I don’t think we can have all of us fit in there,” Kat said skeptically before she watched Tommy and then Zack and Adam head down a set of stairs into what had to be a basement.

“Come on Kat, the surprises are all downstairs,” Kim commented, placing a hand on her shoulder and guiding her to descend into the basement command center.

As their friends and former team mates made their way into the command center, Kim could hear the shocked yells and gasps. Only after everyone else had gone down did Kim finally follow. When she turned around at the bottom of the stairs, she found a group of stunned former rangers, a quartet of ecstatic current rangers, and coming in from the back door, as she planned a pair of geniuses.

“Billy!” Kim yelled, and the formerly geeky blue ranger gave Hayley’s hand a squeeze before letting it go to meet Kim in a huge hug.

“Kimberly! You look awesome. It’s so good to see you, and I’m so happy for you,” Billy rattled off, obviously happy to see her.

“So do you. I’m glad you found someone your equal to hook up with finally,” said Kim, looking over his shoulder knowingly and making both him and Hayley flush.

“Hey, no hogging the visiting super-genius!” called out Jason, as he, Zack and the others converged on Billy and Kim.

There was another round of hugs and more conversation about how everyone got there and how things were. Billy introduced Hayley, prompting some smirks from Jason and Adam who had met her before when they’d visited Tommy in school. Suddenly cutting into the reminiscing and catching up, a loud throat clearing was heard, and everyone turned to where Tommy and Kim had moved to stand with the new team.

“Since everyone’s here and before this degenerates into a big chaotic scene from ‘Friends’, I’d like to introduce to all of you the new power team,” Tommy announced, his face covered with a wide grin that he couldn’t and didn’t want to wipe off. “This is Conner, the red ranger, Kira, the yellow ranger, Ethan, the blue ranger and Trent, the white ranger. And they know you guys already, mostly from reputation having heard the stories from Kim and I, but some of you have met before…”

With that, the teen rangers found themselves surrounded by their predecessors; shaking hands, being given congratulations and encouragement. In the cases of the rangers who had been their color, they heard how they were glad to see such good choices for successors to their color mantles. It was as those conversations were occurring that Billy took the opportunity to look over Hayley’s craftsmanship of the wristbands she’d made that acted as communicators and could morph into the ranger’s unique morphers by examining Ethan’s cuff.

“These are the morpher/communicators, yes?” Billy said, directing the question to Ethan and Hayley.

“Yes. They’re a mixed material of several unstable metals that allow the morpher to be ‘disguised’ as the bracelet,” Hayley explained, smiling at Billy.

“Then why does Kimberly have one too?” he asked, and those around him went silent as they turned notice the silver cuff with the pink stone on Kim’s left wrist.

Kim and Tommy looked to one another. The news of him being the new black ranger had been e-mailed through the group months ago, but Kim’s discovery of the pink dino gem was recent, and they hadn’t told anyone outside the new team yet…

“Because I’m ‘back’ too,” Kim said with a silly smile, raising her wrist and touching the gem to transform it into her morpher, causing the room to explode into another round of dropped jaws, shocked gasps and yells.

Aisha and Jason were the first to Kim’s side, throwing their arms around her. Everyone else moved in as well to look over the new pink ranger’s morpher and offer congratulations.

“Well then, I guess then we can officially congratulate Kim and Tommy,” announced Jason, drawing everyone’s attention to where he stood between Kim and Tommy, his arms wrapped over their shoulders, “on being the first and only ranger couple to come out of retirement and not only get back into uniform but get hitched too!”

Another cheer went through the room, and Tommy and Kim pulled Jason into a hug before moving away, catching one another’s hands.

“Alright everyone, how about we get this party started?” Tommy said loudly, and with that, the party was officially on.

-x-

The next evening arrived before anyone knew what had hit them. 

The ranger reunion had gone on until nearly midnight, and after everyone had gone back to their homes and hotels, Kim and Tommy had decided to crash for the night and clean up in the morning. They were glad that they both had asked for some time off, Kim having negotiated the time before starting and Tommy taking some vacation time with a few days of personal leave because the amount of work he’d have to come back to would pile up. 

They’d ended up packing away all the tables and chairs, moving the stereo back upstairs and bagged the trash. Now, hours later, sitting on the sofa, Tommy looked at his watch and then flicked his eyes towards the bathroom door where Kim was still getting ready to go out. 

Aisha was coming by to get her any minute for her evening out with the girls while the guys were picking Tommy up for his night out tomorrow. He sighed and changed the channel again, looking for something besides reality TV and reruns before the doorbell rang. Getting up and muting the TV, he tossed the remote on the couch and got up to open the door, revealing the person he’d been expecting… Aisha stood at the doorstep, and on the road just beyond the path he saw a black limo sitting and waiting.

“Aisha, hey,” Tommy said, reaching forward and hugging the former yellow ranger.

As he stepped back, Tommy noticed the trademark yellow was still there; a gold African print tank top made of silk or something and a pair of black pants that seemed like she’d been poured into them. But he wasn’t sure if it was for everyone else’s benefit or just an old habit. Actually, now that he thought about it, everyone the night before had done pretty much the same. Maybe there was something to be said for being stuck with your color.

“Hey Tommy, where’s the bride-to-be? I have a limo full of ranger women ready to head to the hills.”

“In the bathroom. She’ll be out in a minute. So, what have you got planned for my fiancé?”

“Not to worry. I promise to bring her back still wearing all her clothes. However, if she comes home with some other man’s underwear, it’s not my fault.”

Tommy mock-glared at her and she grinned and then started laughing. Teasing the ‘boss’ had always been fun.

“You’re not taking Kira, are you?” Tommy asked, knowing how close Kim and Kira had gotten.

“Please, no kids allowed. Besides, I’d get arrested for contributing to the delinquency…”

“Aisha,” Kim said as she stepped out from the bedroom, decked out in a pair of tight black jeans and a pink rose print halter top. “So, are we going or what?”

“Hell yeah!” said Aisha, wrapping an arm around Kim’s shoulder’s. “We have men to ogle and liquor to drink.”

With that, Aisha pulled Kim along with her towards the door. Planting her feet, Kim swiveled and reached out to catch Tommy’s hand. He pulled her over and kissed her before Aisha sighed loudly and moved to break them up and get Kim out the door.

“Love you,” Kim told Tommy, and he smiled at her.

“Alright, God, you two…” groaned Aisha with a smile.

“Love you too Beautiful. Have fun.”

“We will if we can get out of here. Come on girlfriend, it’s time to see what you’re giving up,” she said, leading Kim out the door. Only when it shut did she admit, “not like what you’re getting isn’t worth it.”

Kim laughed, and ‘sha joined her. Quickly they walked down the path where Aisha opened up the black stretch limo’s door and Kim peaked in to shift back as a loud cheer was let out by the car’s occupants.

“Congratulations Kim!”

Inside sat Kat and Tanya, as well as Cassie and Ashley from the space ranger teams.

“Did you ask Hayley?” Kim asked slightly concerned that her newest friend and the architect of the new ranger team had been left off the guest list.

“Of course! Hayley said she’d meet us there,” Aisha explained.

“Which is where?”

“I’m not saying.”

With that, Aisha shut the limo door and told the driver to head for their stop. Before Kim knew what had hit her, they were on their way. 

-x-

The party at the only male revue in three counties had been keeping the girls entertained for the last few hours, but the constant rounds of drinks had made for a more lively conversation once the subject of the future bride’s intended came up, bringing with it everyone’s comments on his hair, eyes, and physical… attributes. Unfortunately, unlike Cassie, Ashley, Tanya, Aisha and Hayley’s simple crush-like remarks, one of the group had a whole lot more experience with the former red zeo ranger’s anatomy.

“You wouldn’t believe it,” Kat nearly slurred, the fifth Sex on the Beach making her loosen her tongue. “We broke the bed. I swear, I’m so glad that we were in my dorm room. If it had been at my house or Tommy’s, nether of us would have been able to look our families in the face.”

“You…” Kim stammered, feeling a bit woozy not just from her third Irish Car Bomb, but from what Kat was saying.

Sure, she knew that Kat and Tommy had slept together during their relationship. But that didn’t mean that she wanted to hear all the gory details. Like them being so enthusiastic that they *broke* Kat’s bed. 

Great, Kim though. Inferiority complex redux. As Kat went on, Kim found herself falling into the insecurities that had plagued her when Kat had first arrived in Angel Grove, and all the guys had been caught staring at the knockout blonde with a B cup? 

How the hell could she compete with her, she wondered idly as Kat went on to talk about when she and Tommy had spent the entire weekend together, and she let herself become discouraged. Why was Tommy marrying her anyway, she thought miserably.

Hayley listened intently as the woman that had been Tommy’s first talked with the woman who was walking down the aisle with him in less than a week’s time. In this case, she was glad it wasn’t her hearing how Tommy had screwed Kat six ways from Sunday. The fact that Kim was frowning said it all.

Finally it was Aisha and Tanya that bodily picked Kat up by the arms and escorted her to the ladies room. It wasn’t long after that when they’d decided to call it a night.

-x-

Having ended the festivities early, Aisha and the limo dropped Kim back to the house around eleven.

Walking herself to the front door, Kim slid the key in after a few tries and opened the door to find Tommy asleep on the couch with the TV still on. She walked over and turned it off, and the sudden lack of sound woke him up.

“Hey,” he said sleepily, reaching up to catch Kim’s hand, but caught empty air as she walked past and into the bathroom. “Kim?”

“What?” she said, brushing her teeth as she tried to cut through some of the fog from the liquor and Kat’s words that still rang in her ears, but she knew the words had come out curt and short, just like her temper. While Kat had apologized for saying anything or making Kim upset, the stories, the *enthusiasm* which she’d told them in refused to leave her mind.

“How was the party?”

“Fine.”

“Beautiful, what’s wrong?” Tommy asked, now fully awake and worried at Kim’s strange behavior.

Suddenly she turned around, toothbrush in hand and pointed it at him.

“Are you sure you want to marry me?” she asked suddenly, her voice hard yet scared.

“What? Kim, you’re not serious, are you?” Tommy asked, shocked.

“Why not? I thought I was clear in my question. I mean, why would you want me when you could have someone like… say Kat. I mean, she’s blonde, pretty and has bigger breasts. I mean, you guys were so damn enthusiastic you broke her bed, while our sex life has been…”

“Kim, what the hell are you thinking? Where did you…”

Abruptly Tommy figured out what had set Kim off on her tirade of anger and self-doubt. Obviously Kim had heard more about his and Kat’s relationship than she needed to or knew how to handle. And he knew the only person beside himself that had that knowledge was…

“Kat was at the bachelorette party tonight,” he said straightforwardly, not even phrasing it as a question.

“Yeah, and she got real talkative after the fifth drink. So she was more than happy to tell me how great you were in bed. I mean *all* the details. I think Tanya and ‘sha finally had to haul her off to the ladies room to tell her she was being rude,” Kim said, tossing the toothbrush into the sink and walking past him into the kitchen and pouring herself a glass of water.

“Look, I can tell you that…”

“Oh, and you should know that some of the girls think that if you can break Kat’s headboard that you’re a catch beyond all price, and want to hear about the honeymoon.”

“Kim, stop!”

Tommy reached over and took the glass from her hand, setting it down on the counter, and then took hold of her shoulders and grasped them tightly, trying to make her focus on him and what he was about to say, rather than her anger with what Kat had said.

“I don’t love Kat. And even if it was good sex, that’s all it was. Having sex with someone doesn’t compare to making love with someone you’re in love with,” he explained, his voice dropping to a husky whisper as he finished.

“Fine,” Kim said with a pout, “prove it.”

There was a look in Kim’s eye that sparked everything below the waist and short circuited Tommy’s brain. Still, he fought his base desire just to yank her forward and ravish her. Something besides just jealousy and insecurity had to be fueling Kim’s outburst.

“You’re drunk,” Tommy argued, trying to stall.

“No, I’m buzzed, far from drunk. I know what I’m saying. So, prove it,” she insisted again, this time making her own move and reaching forward to pull him towards her, her head tilted upwards and her lips parted as her tongue slowly ran across the bottom lip.

It was more than he could take, and his resolve crumbled. If she wanted validation that he loved only her, who was he to deny her?

“Fine. You asked for it Beautiful.”

With that, hoisted her up from the floor of the kitchen, swinging her into his arms. Swiftly he carried her to their bedroom and proceeded to show her exactly how much he wanted *her*.

-x-

The next evening found Tommy decked out in a pair of black jeans that had temped Kim to go for a repeat of the previous evening’s activities and a tan button up shirt. Their lovemaking the night before had gone on into early morning, and by the time they both were exhausted and sated, no doubt in either of their minds had been left that they loved one another and wanted no one besides the other.

Now Kim watched him head into the bathroom and obsess over his short, spiked hair in the mirror for fifteen minutes before she simply sighed and decided to ignore him as he continued his primping. It was funny though, she thought, since all he was doing was going out with his closest friends to celebrate the fact that any woman who was going to hit on him was going to go home alone.

Finally resigned to his hair as it was, Tommy sighed and walked out into the living room where Kim was curled up on the couch with a cup of tea. Jason would be there any minute to take him to where ever his bachelor party was being held. 

Now what Tommy knew about bachelor parties consisted of simply drinking, skin flicks, strippers and cards. And he was questioning what his friends and his brother had come up. What he didn’t realize was that Jason Scott, his best friend, brother in arms and former red ranger had been plotting and planning this event since they had both been seventeen.

And he had a *party* in mind.

“Shouldn’t Jason have showed up by now?” Kim asked from the couch, where she’d curled up with a book and a cup of tea. She was way too wired to drink anything more substantial, plus, she needed to be focused and awake if they brought home her fiancé drunk as a skunk.

“He’s probably running a bit late,” he replied, and Kim fought not to laugh, considering Tommy was usually the one who was late getting places. Tommy gave her a look and she looked away with a grin.

A knock at the door brought Tommy up short, and he moved to answer it. Jason was there, cocky grin in place, looking ready to go. Kim set down her book and tea and got up to greet him.

“Hey Kim,” Jason said, coming into the house as he bypassed his friend to reach down and hug his ‘little sister’. “So, I’m here to steal your man…”

“Promise he’ll come back in one piece?” she joked with a grin.

“You think I’d risk your wrath by him not? You forget that I know you fight dirty. Say goodbye to your lover boy, he’s all ours for the night.”

“Have fun,” Kim said, moving to kiss him lightly on the lips. “Love you.”

“Love you too Beautiful,” he replied, and grasped her tighter, kissing her soundly.

“Hey, break it up. If I want to see that, we can rent a porno!” Jase complained, mock-groaning at the scene before him.

When Tommy finally let Kim loose, Jason, put a hand on his shoulder and headed him out the door. The two walked down the path from the house to where Jason had his rental car. As Tommy got in, he realized that they were alone.

“Where’s everybody? Did you spend all the money you won from the guys on your hotel?” Tommy joked as he put on his seatbelt.

“Please, give me *some* credit,” Jason complained, turning overt he engine and pulling out onto the road. “Everyone is meeting us at the club. And yes, before you ask, I called David and invited him too. He and Sam were getting in tonight for your dinner with the family tomorrow, so he was going to check in at the hotel and meet us there.”

Tommy nodded, and tried not to worry about what his best friend had set up…

-x-

They’d ended up at a club called “The Crazy Horse” in neighboring Surfside, where Jason had been months before. As it was, when Tommy realized that, he had to wonder if Jason had been scouting a place for his bachelor party since before he’d told him about planning on proposing. But, when he thought about it, Tommy had to admit that ever since he and Kim had re-ignited their relationship, it really had been just a matter of time…

Around a large table beside the main catwalk which featured several barely dressed women who’d found the table more than financially lucrative, the male contingent of rangers had assembled to say bon voyage to Tommy’s single life. Zack, Billy, Rocky, Adam were there, along with some other rangers: Wes who had been with the Time Force team, Cole from Wild Force, and then the group that had been the space rangers – TJ, Andros and Carlos. And one non-ranger… Tommy’s brother David.

They’d been there, joking, laughing, tipping the strippers who made sure to give a lot of their attention to the table of good looking men, and drinking as the night went by. As the waitress came and brought another round of drinks, Adam paid for the round and handed them around.

“This has been a long time in coming, Bro,” Jason said to Tommy as he took another long swallow of his beer, draining it and taking the brand new one Adam was handing him.

Tommy nodded , noting that the rangers that had actually served with him and knew his history with Kimberly seemed to be in agreement regarding that statement.

“Actually, I’d almost say eight years too late, but…” Zack remarked with a sip of his beer.

“Still, it was worth it in the long run, wasn’t it?” Wes asked, his expression slightly downcast.

Tommy looked at the man he’d met during the red ranger adventure. He’d heard that he’d lost the love of his life not to another man but to time itself. He had to be glad that he wasn’t in his shoes.

“Well, no matter how long it took, I’m just glad to see you finally happy,” David said, taking his own beer and bringing it to his lips.

Tommy flashed a smile at his brother. For all the things that being a ranger had gained him, one of the best was finding his only blood relation. Between his friends, David and Kim, even his new dino powers, he had more than he deserved.

“So are we,” Jason joked and raised his glass, prompting the others to join him. “To Tommy’s happiness!”

The group all echoed Jason’s statement and they drank to it, resulting in Rocky realizing some of them needed another drink, and he threw up his hand eagerly to call the waitress back.

-x-

“It could have been worse,” Billy said, as he finished his third gin and tonic, telling the story of when he and Kim had switched bodies back in Angel Grove in the early days of the team.

“How?” asked Cole, stunned by the bizarre events that had happened to the original rangers. Everyone had told a story, and he was amazed…

“At least Kim wasn’t dating Tommy at the time, or you’d have been in trouble,” Rocky commented with a smirk and the guys all groaned at the thought.

“Still, that couldn’t have been that bad, you could have begged off, or at least explained what was going on to a member of the team,” TJ suggested.

“Yeah, but there’s one thing I was glad of… Well, try to think of being sixteen and stuck in the body of the cutest girl in school. It was just lucky it wasn’t when, well you know… women are moody,” Billy trailed off, and the guys suddenly got the drift, all of them wincing at the thought.

“I am so not telling Kim you mentioned that,” Tommy groaned, and then got all defensive as he thought of what else Billy might have done while he was in Kim’s body. “You didn’t…”

“No!” shouted Billy.

Everyone shot a look at Tommy and then Billy.

“Come on Tommy, I mean if he’d decided to take a peek when he was in Kim’s body, I could understand,” Adam remarked quietly, and everyone turned their eyes on him. “What? Please, just because Kim’s always been Tommy’s doesn’t mean I didn’t notice she was hot. Like you all didn’t?”

Tommy surveyed his friends, ones he’d known for years. This was a side of them that he hadn’t seen before.

“Don’t look at me. Kim and I have been friends since elementary school. She’s been like a sister since high school,” Jason stated firmly.

“Same for me. Man, you guys are so bad, scoping out a team mates’ girl,” Zack added.

“Billy?” Tommy questioned, curious now if the scientist had been interested in being more than Kim’s friend…

“I have to admit an initial interest in Kimberly’s form. But as she was always attracted to you Tommy, it was simply a matter of curiosity. Besides, I’ve gotten over that fully…”

“By the way, congrats on you’re relationship with Hayley,” Tommy said, reaching over to shake his friend’s hand. He was glad that two people he really felt deserved happiness had found it finally… just like Kim and he had.

When Tommy and Billy squared up, they both turned back to the group. While TJ, Wes, Andros, Carlos, David and Cole had never met Kim, there was still one member of the team who had served with her that had yet to speak up. Everyone’s gaze fell on him and Rocky downed his tequila shot, and then decided to come clean. 

“All right, I’ll fess up,” Rocky announced, raising his empty glass in his hand. “She has a nice ass. How the hell could you not notice it in those damn pink tights?”

Everyone started laughing, even though Tommy was less than pleased. Still, she was his woman, and he knew that getting that final ring on her finger was now just a matter of days away.

“Sounds like you’re a lucky man,” TJ said, and everyone raised their glasses in acknowledgement. He took a long swallow and then had to reach forward to get himself another of the bottles of beer that stood in the middle of the table, and asked, “Speaking of spandex, aren’t you a little old for that yourself Tommy?” 

He shrugged as everyone laughed, winced or looked understanding. What could he say? He was just fated to be a ranger forever he guessed.

“It just keeps choosing me, not the other way around. Which, by the way brings me to my next question… anyone else looking to saddle up again? I could use a good replacement for a week while Kim and I are on our honeymoon.”

There were a round of looks, and before anyone raised their hands, Jason looked at Zack and the two started laughing, setting the whole table off into another round of near-hysterical, near-drunken laughter.

-x-

Kim heard noises along the path and she rolled over in bed, looking at the digital clock. It read two am, and she had no doubts that the off-key singing was her beloved and their friends. Getting up, she threw on a pink bathrobe and went to the front door. Opening it, she found Jason and Zack helping Tommy up the walk. She sighed and opened the door for them.

“Hey Kim, hope we didn’t wake you,” Jason said in a fairly thick voice that sounded like he’d been smoking, even if she knew he didn’t smoke.

“It’s okay… so, how is he?” she asked as Zack guided Tommy inside and her fiancé’s head raised up slightly in a half drunken stupor.

“Kimmm,” he drawled, obviously three sheets to the wind, and she smirked.

“Come on guys, toss him on the bed and I’ll take care of things from there.”

They guided him into the bedroom, and sat him down. Kim knelt and took off his shoes, and then stood up and settled Tommy on the mattress, pulling up the covers. He sighed and then started to snore, and Kim couldn’t help grin at him. With Tommy taken care of, Kim turned and walked out into the living room with Zack and Jason.

“You guys need any coffee?” she asked.

“No, we don’t have far to go, and I didn’t drink that much,” Zack said, and the two headed out after giving her a hug.

Kim closed and locked the door behind them and ran a hand through her hair. Obviously they’d had a good time. She just hoped that he didn’t wake up with too much of a hangover, since they had dinner plans with their parents the next night.

Smiling, Kim decided to worry about it in the morning, and headed into the bedroom, tossing off her robe to the end of the bed, and climbed under the covers to curl up against her future husband.


	37. Family Reunion

“Are you sure you don’t want to change your mind and run off to Las Vegas?” Kim asked as she sat nervously on the couch as Tommy paced the living room of their house.

They’d been lucky the last few days; there had been very little activity with regards to Mesogog, and when Tommy had woken up that morning… nearly afternoon, his hangover had been pretty much like a bad headache more than anything else. He credited it to the fact that he hadn’t mixed his liquor… much. The three Sex with a Goat’s that the guys had bought him had done a number on him, resulting in his singing performance the night before. 

But now the real reason for them to be tense was to appear any moment; they were waiting for their families to arrive.

As Tommy looked at his watch once again, he was struck by another stab of doubt, and wondered if maybe Kim had a point. Then he shook his head, dispelling the thought.

“No. I promised myself that if I ever got you back that we’d get married properly. And it’s just our families Kim. You’d think you were expecting axe wielding maniacs or Mesogog’s flunkies to knock at that door any minute.”

“Maybe that’s because it’s been eight years since my parents have been in the same room together, and neither of them have always been happy about my choices,” she reminded him, remembering Tommy’s first meeting with her dad at the parent’s day in Angel Grove.

Plus there was the other decision that they’d made that she was pretty sure was going to cause problems…

Before he could say anything else to counter her comment, the door bell rang. He hurried to the door and opened it to see a pair of very familiar people.

“Mom, dad!” Tommy said brightly, as he was caught up quickly in his parents’ arms.

“You look good son,” James Oliver said, looking over his son.

“So, is Kim here?” Jan asked, backing up as she tried to glance over her too tall son’s shoulder.

Once her name had been mentioned, Kimberly got up from the couch and moved over to stand at Tommy’s elbow. She knew that what she’d done in breaking up with their son had hurt the Oliver’s almost as much as it had hurt Tommy, and she could only hope that they would be understanding now…

“Kimberly dear, it’s so good to see you,” said Tommy’s father, reaching past his son and holding his arms out to her.

Without hesitation, Kim hugged the older man, finding herself feeling re-accepted again. Right behind him, Jan was waiting her turn.

“We were so glad to hear that you and Tommy were talking again,” Jan stated as she hugged her, smiling at the woman who stood where the young girl who had first dated her son had been. “And when he called to say you were back together and getting married, well we were surprised, to say the least.”

“Sorry about that,” Tommy said with a wince as he guided everyone to the sofa, sitting on the arm hovering over Kim’s shoulder. “I kept reminding myself to call and tell you that things had changed and that I was thinking about it…”

“Not to worry. The point is that we’re happy for the both of you,” James Oliver expressed with a smile in the direction of their future daughter in law. “By the way, your Uncle John was sorry he couldn’t come, but he’s in Daytona this week for a race that’s on the same day as the wedding. He sent his best though.”

“That’s good. I know Kim’s Uncle Steve wasn’t able to come either, but we’ll make do.”

“So, are we waiting on Kim’s family before we leave for dinner?” Jan asked, looking from Tommy to Kim.

“My mom and step dad are on the way, supposedly. As to my dad and brother… they may not get here until the day of the wedding,” Kim commented reluctantly.

Before the subject could be addressed, there was a knock at the door with a specific beat that made Tommy smile. Quickly he got up from where he was perched on the arm of the sofa and hurried to the door. Yanking it open, he found his brother staring at him and behind him the elderly Native American man, Sam Trueheart that had raised him. 

“David, Sam!” Tommy cried out, pausing briefly to hug his brother whom he’d seen the night before at his bachelor party. 

As Tommy and David had hugged, obviously happy to see one another, Jan and James Oliver watched their son with his only real living blood relative and couldn’t help the sad smiles that crossed their faces.

“Hey Tommy,” said David, as he hugged his brother, and then moved so Sam could get by.

Tommy moved to embrace Sam as the elderly gray haired man opened his arms him. He’d been the one who’d helped him find his heritage as well as his brother, and if he wanted to be honest, the ring that his future wife now wore as well. 

“Sam, David, come in, meet everyone,” stated Tommy, ushering the men inside and then moving to Kim’s side. “Kim, this is my brother David, and his guardian Sam Trueheart.” 

“If I didn’t already know he was your brother, the resemblance would have made me wonder,” Kim said with a smile as she offered her hand to the man who was her love’s only living blood relative.

David smiled at her, and took her hand to shake it. He looked to his brother and winked, letting him know of his silent approval.

“Kimberly,” spoke up Sam as he moved forward to taker her hand in both of his. His eyes glanced from her to Tommy and back again. “You make one another happy. This is a good thing. You must always remember that together you are more than you are apart. It is truly a pleasure to meet you.”

“Likewise,” Kim replied, smiling at the older man.

“You both know my parents,” Tommy reminded them, re-introducing the four.

There were polite smiles and handshakes, but the fact remained that while Jan and James Oliver were happy their son knew something of his birth parents, it was hard to realize that this part of Tommy’s life wasn’t part of theirs.

“When do you expect your family Kimberly?” David asked, enjoying the opportunity to get to know finally the woman he knew his brother had always loved.

“Uh…”

Kim turned to Tommy, her discomfort written on her face. There was a reason she wasn’t looking forward to her families’ arrival, and it seemed that their delay was going to cause more friction than she wanted to deal with. Looking at his watch, Tommy tapped his foot nervously.

“We have reservations in fifteen minutes. Do we wait?” Tommy asked Kim apprehensively.

“Maybe a few more minutes. Mom and Pierre probably had to find their way from the airport…” Kim started when the doorbell rang.

Tommy moved to see who it was, and when the door swung open, he found his future mother in law on the other side.

“Mom!” exclaimed Kim, hurrying to the door and catching her mother in a hug.

“Sorry about being so late, the plane was delayed,” Caroline told everyone, smiling at the assembled people until her eyes fell on Tommy. “Hey there stranger.”

Moving away from Kim, Caroline went to Tommy and smiled at him fondly before reaching out and hugging him. When she released him, Tommy gave Kim a sideways look of surprise. He hadn’t been expecting such an enthusiastic reception. 

“Kim, some introductions perhaps?” Caroline suddenly said, noticing several of the people in the room staring at her and her husband with blank looks.

“I’m sorry, everyone, this is my mother Caroline and Pierre Dumas, her husband. Mom, you know Tommy’s parents Jan and James, and this is his brother David and David’s guardian, Sam Trueheart,” Kim said, introducing her mom and step father around.

As Kim made the introductions and everyone shook hands, the doorbell rang again, and Kim turned with wide eyes. Tommy opened the door to reveal Kim’s father Richard, and her brother Kenny. 

“Dad, Kenny… I thought you weren’t getting in until Saturday,” stated Kim in surprise, hurrying over to hug them both.

“Ken was able to get away earlier and I made some last minute adjustments to my schedule. Besides, I figured it would be bad manners to show up the day of my daughter’s wedding,” Rich Hart said, smiling at his little girl.

“Mr. Hart, Kenny,” Tommy said, coming up to Kim’s side and putting an arm around her shoulders as she backed up from her father’s embrace. 

“Tommy, hey good to see you,” Ken said, reaching over to shake Tommy’s hand. He’d liked Kim’s boyfriend from Angel Grove, and when he’d heard the news about the engagement, he figured that the guy really had been alright after all.

Kim’s father also took Tommy’s hand, and then turned to his ex-wife and politely kissed her cheek. Caroline took over the hostess duties, re-introducing him and her son to Jan and James, as well as Tommy’s other family, David and Sam. They all briefly shook hands, making pleasant small talk before Kim looked to Tommy and silently let him know that leaving now would be a good idea.

“So, now that everyone’s here, let’s go,” Tommy stated, and watched Kim breathe out a sigh of relief and he opened the door up again.

Quickly Tommy waved everyone out the door, and then ushered Kim out before locking up. Things seemed to be okay, but he had an idea or two about what Kim was worried about with her dad, some wedding details that they’d discussed but hadn’t mentioned to anyone yet. Informing them all of those choices was going to be sticky, more than likely. He sighed as they walked along the path and hoped that Kim wasn’t right, and that they wouldn’t regret not going to Vegas after all.

-x-

They’d survived dinner, with the only really disturbing incident being the near argument that Kim’s father and Kim had gotten into over her decision to not have him walk her down the aisle. She had feared he wouldn’t understand, and the fact that he wanted to argue about it had thrown a chill over the festivities, and Tommy and Kim had ended up saying goodbye to everyone at the restaurant, needing to go home on their own and decompress. 

When the next day came, it was with more wedding details to attend to, plans with their families and their friends, and it was starting to drive them both crazy.

First on their agenda for the day was breakfast with Jason and Aisha that morning before they split up to do more of the final wedding chores. Tommy and Jason had picked David up at the hotel and then gone to get fitted for their tuxedoes while Kim went to pick up her dress from the shop and help Aisha find one. Kira and Caroline met them there to help out, Kira making sure to point out the dress that she’d bought for herself by using some of the money she’d gotten from that awful record producer who’d made that horrible video of her song. At least she’d gotten paid for it…

Once the dresses had been put in the trunk of Aisha’s rental car, the four of them had gone to meet with the party rental company, caterer, florist and bakery one last time to make sure everything was on track. From there, they stopped by a party supply store to pick up some extra things to decorate the reception with, and the materials for the favors that Kim had ended up waiting for everyone to get into town and help with.

So when Tommy arrived home after dropping Jason and David off at their hotels, he found Kim, Kira, Aisha, and Caroline Hart in their kitchen, making favors. He walked in smiling at Aisha and Kira before coming around to lay his hands on Kim’s shoulders, kissing her on the top of her head.

“What did you decide on, because these don’t look like pre-made chocolate boxes,” he asked with an amused tone.

“We’re making favor bags, with chocolates in them, thank you very much,” Kim replied with a glance.

“It’s actually very sweet,” Caroline said, handing one of the finished bags to Tommy. 

He took it, seeing the red foil hearts in the clear plastic, the top tied with pink and black ribbons and a small white card attached. It had their names and the date hand printed on it, a task he noticed Kim was taking on. He flipped the card over to see clearly the images of a falcon and crane in flight in black ink. Taken aback, he nearly dropped the package.

“Where… how…” Tommy rambled before Aisha and Kira started laughing.

“Stamps,” Aisha announced, holding up one of the rubber stamps that they’d found at the craft store.

“I thought that was a bit strange, but Kim said they were good luck,” said Caroline, filling another bag with the heart chocolates as Kim gave Tommy a knowing smile.

“They definitely are Mrs. Dumas,” he remarked, his voice thick with emotion.

“We have more to do, so why don’t you scoot and go do something useful,” Kim stated.

He nodded and kissed her briefly before heading out.

-x-

It was later that evening when the favors had been finished and everyone had headed out for their own plans that Tommy and Kim finally were able to eat a quiet dinner together before making a final check of the wedding preparations. After they’d cleaned the kitchen, putting the dishes in the dishwasher and made out slightly at the sink counter, Kim had made her way to sit at the computer desk. While she reviewed and checked off tasks on the list, Tommy watched her intently, laid out on the couch, sighing as he put his feet up on the coffee table.

“So, we have everything in place, right?” Kim asked, using the computer program that Ethan had given them to manage the wedding. “You got your tux while you were out with Jason and David, and my dress is at the hotel with Aisha… wow, I think that we’ve done everything.”

“Oh, we stopped by and saw Hayley earlier at the Cyberspace and said she had everything under control over there. She conned Billy, Trent, Conner and Ethan into getting everything set up and is making sure that the caterer and musicians are in and ready by the time we get there.”

“I don’t know what we would have done without her, Ethan, or the rest of the team… or our friends for that matter.”

“I would have woken up without a headache a couple of days ago,” Tommy reminded her, and she laughed.

“Still… hey, you didn’t tell me… are we taking a honeymoon?” Kim said in a shocked voice, realizing they’d never talked about it.

“I do have a plan Beautiful… since I can’t really be gone too long with school already in session and you needing to start your new job, I just thought that we could maybe,” he started, and then got up from the couch and walked to stand beside her at his desk and pulled out the side drawer, digging under the papers and bills Kim was used to seeing there and pulled out a pair of tickets. “Go to Hawaii for five days?”

“Tommy, that’s… oh, you,” she said, her eyes misting as she got up and jumped into his embrace. 

“I take it that’s a yes?”

“Always,” she answered, and they both understood that it was for more than just the honeymoon plans.

-x-

The atmosphere at the rehearsal dinner was more like a small version of what they hoped the reception would be like. People talking, laughing and having a good time. 

Tommy had chosen the Deep Dive, where he and Jason had met for dinner not long after he’d gotten the black ranger powers. It was there that Jason had told him not to let Kim slip through his fingers, and he thought it was the perfect place to celebrate his accomplishment of that goal.

Kira and Aisha had sat together, the two getting to know one another better, while David and Kim had talked over the chaos that was the fourteen people in the semi-private back room that the restaurant used for parties. The subject of Kim’s walking down the aisle alone came up again, this time brought up accidentally by Aisha. 

Richard Hart watched his daughter brush off the question and shook his head. He had brought this on himself. He and Ken had talked the night before about it, and he’d had to face some hard truths. In the last six years, he really hadn’t been there for his daughter. She had done everything on her own, her Pan Global experience, college, coaching… and he was now upset about her choosing to walk herself down the aisle? He had no right to ask her for that honor, and as it was, he knew he ought to be happy that their relationship had survived enough that she’d wanted them there.

Conversation continued, everyone asking about honeymoon plans, and Kim was able to tell them about Tommy’s surprise of the Hawaii tickets. There were lots of happy congratulations and Aisha informed Kim that the water was just so blue that they had to find time to actually leave the hotel and go swimming. Both Kim and Tommy blushed at the implied suggestion that they wouldn’t leave the hotel, but they both knew that their friends knew them well enough that they *should* think that.

Once they wrapped up the meal, the families and friends involved with the wedding piled into the cars and drove to the church.

The site that Tommy had presented to Kim as his suggestion on where to hold the wedding was a simple little white wooden chapel, big enough for maybe one hundred people, and more than large enough for the thirty friends and family that would be attending. As they walked through the double doors, the charm of the small church hit everyone. They passed the room near the front door Kim and the bridal party would use to get her ready to walk down the aisle, and then entered the church itself.

“Good evening Tommy, Kim,” called out an older man, his hair receding and gray, with a full mustache and beard over a large smile, dressed in a suit with his obvious clerical collar. “These must be the rest of the wedding party. I’m Reverend Miller. How about we get started, so you fine folks can go back to your lives?”

The reverend started talking over who needed to do what, who followed who and the general ‘how to get married’ instructions. Kim and Tommy went through the motions as directed, not really fully aware of their actions. All they could think of was that in two days they’d be doing this for real. The minister glossed over the vows and such, remarking that they’d be able to screw them up without any problem the day of the wedding even with rehearsing, making everyone laugh.

When they came to the kissing part of the ceremony, Tommy and Kim broke from their trance, and kissed one another, somewhat less than politely, resulting in another round of laughter.

“Well, I guess they have *that* part down pat,” remarked the reverend, which only made everyone laugh louder and Kim and Tommy blush and hold one another tighter.

-x-

After having seen their families and friends back to their hotels from the church, and dropping Kira off at home, Tommy and Kim lounged on their couch, Tommy idly flipping channels with the remote with one hand while the other held Kim tucked into his side, her head on his chest as they settled in for the night.

“You know, it’s been quiet the last few days,” Kim asked with a hint of worry in her voice, and Tommy knew what she meant immediately. “Do you think they’re planning something? They wouldn’t attack the downtown or anything while we’re having the wedding, and make us have to run out…”

“I don’t think so Kim. I mean, if something does comes up during the wedding, Conner, Trent and Ethan can sneak out, and we’ll join them after the fact. Besides, with you and me being sort of secondary, we have that luxury now of not having to be the first rangers into battle.”

“But you’d want to be there first anyway, if you could,” she remarked with a grin, and he sighed.

“Yeah, but so would you,” he tossed back, knowing that since she’d gotten her dino powers she’d been energized to go into battle just as much as he always was.

She rolled her eyes but didn’t correct him, because she couldn’t. 

“Are you going to stay at a hotel tomorrow night?” Tommy blurted out as he flipped past a romantic scene on the television.

“I hadn’t given it much thought,” Kim said, looking to Tommy with a frown. “I think we’ve spent enough time apart, wouldn’t you say?”

The thought of years alone, going through the motions and not even speaking to Kim flashed through Tommy’s mind. Then the year after Trini’s funeral when all he wanted to do was tell her he still loved her, and the following year when they’d been in love but almost trapped by obligations to their own lives… No, they’d spent *way* too much time apart to add any more right now.

“Definitely. So what are you going to do then? ”

“I’ll just figure to leave early Saturday morning for the hotel and meet up with Aisha, Kira and my mom and meet you at the altar.”

“Sounds like a plan Beautiful.”

“Besides, you can handle me being gone for a little while Saturday… I mean you’ve got me for the next 48 hours straight,” she reminded him with a gentle nudge of her elbow and a smile. 

“I thought I had you forever?”

“You do…”

He leaned over and kissed her softly at first, and then more deeply, reassuring them both that they really did have forever.


	38. With This Ring pt 1: Going to the Chapel

Kimberly Ann Hart stood before the mirror at the back of the simple country church that she and Tommy had picked out and stared at her reflection. If anyone would have asked her at sixteen if this day would have come, she would have said yes. Just three years ago, she wasn’t sure if it ever could.

But now, as she smoothed the front panel of her wedding dress, she knew that after nearly nine years, her dreams were about to come true. 

She was marrying Thomas James Oliver.

Kim turned again to look at the gown in the mirror, still unbelieving. The ice pink color of the off the shoulder, corseted gown looked like it was made for her, and she smiled happily; it actually made her look like she had cleavage. She’d found this dress on a shopping trip on her own after feeling less than sold on the ones she, Hayley and Kira had looked at and had fallen in love with it. She could only hope that Tommy liked it as much.

“You look too damn good in that dress,” Aisha said, walking over to her friend with the elbow length veil attached to the simple rhinestone tiara in her hand, her strapless floor length yellow satin dress swaying as she moved. 

While both of Kim’s attendants wore the same color, it wasn’t because she’d asked them too. No, this wasn’t a traditional wedding; it was a ranger wedding. That alone meant that everyone, except for a few family members knew who everyone was, or would be able to tell who or what they had been by the color they wore. And even after years of being without their powers, the habits of wearing one’s color wasn’t one that had gone away easily. So now, the two women walking up the aisle before her would wear the same color, as sisters of the yellow ranger legacy.

“You look great Kim,” gushed Kira as she came to stand by them. The young yellow ranger was wearing a gown similar to Aisha’s except for the spaghetti style straps that were more fitting for the teenager. 

Kim smiled as she caught Kira’s hand and the two shared a look. With Aisha as the maid of honor, Kim had wanted Kira to be a bridesmaid. Kira had told Kim that she’d be honored too, both of them knowing that if it was possible, Kim would have wanted another yellow ranger there too…

Aisha carefully slid the tiara with the veil over the up-do that Kim had chosen, the caramel colored curls spilling over the sides as Aisha made sure it was pinned in place. With a swipe of her hand, she made sure that the veil was sitting flat before moving back to admire her friend. 

“You’re all set.”

While Kira and Aisha stepped away to take care of making sure that they had Tommy’s ring, the bouquets and everything they’d brought in all packed up to go back into the cars, Kim found herself getting more anxious, and her mom moved across the room to take her hand.

“Nervous?” Caroline asked, smiling at her daughter.

“Yeah… but happy, you know?” 

Caroline nodded. When her daughter had first brought home Tommy Oliver, she’d wondered if the relationship was just first love/high school romance. And now, nearly ten years later, she was getting ready to send her daughter off down a church aisle to marry him.

Kim was glad that her mom was happy for her. It made things easier. As it was, she’d seen her father briefly before getting dressed, and he’d wished her well and gone out to sit with her brother in the church. Her decision to walk down the aisle on her own was still sitting poorly with him, but she refused to worry about it. This was her day, and at this point in her life, she felt that the only person responsible for giving her away to Tommy was herself.

There was a knock at the door and everyone turned, making noises of frantic movement, Kira and Aisha standing in front of Kim, just in case while Caroline Dumas hurried across the room. She opened the door far enough to verify that it wasn’t Tommy, and then she opened it far enough to admit Jason into the bride’s dressing room. Kira and Aisha sighed, and stepped away from Kim, allowing the two long time friends to see one another.

“Hey there Jase,” Kim said as she carefully lifted her dress at the hips as she moved towards her fiancé’s best man, the original leader of the first ranger team, and one of her dearest and oldest friends.

“Wow Kim, you look great,” Jason said as he walked to her side, taking her hand and kissed her cheek, looking her over with a grin. “He’s gonna faint.”

“Well, that would be a first, since it’s usually me doing the fainting around him.”

Aisha and Jason laughed, knowing about the effect Tommy had on her.

“I just wanted to wish you the best, and I’ll make sure he doesn’t run on you.”

“Like he would,” Aisha said sarcastically.

“No, he’s been waiting a long time for this,” Jason remarked seriously.

“Me too,” Kim said, her emotions threatening to ruin her carefully applied mascara.

“Okay, I’d better get out of here and make sure that the bundle of nerves that’s your fiancé doesn’t hyperventilate. We’ll see you soon…”

Aisha escorted Jason out, closing the door behind him. As she turned, she looked at the clock and realized that they had probably another ten minutes to go. Across the room, Kim was slightly pacing, her hands wringing. She had seemed nervous before Jason had arrived, and now she looked even more so. Maybe she needed a few minutes alone, without everyone running around, Aisha thought, and as the maid of honor, it was her job to take care of Kim’s sanity…

“Okay, I think it’s time to give the bride some breathing room. We all have things to do, or places to be, so let’s get to them,” Aisha called out.

Kira and Caroline came and gave Kim a light hug or kiss, and then started out, leaving Kim and Aisha alone. The two held hands and Aisha couldn’t help but smile at the nervous bride.

“You good Kim?” Aisha asked, noting Kim’s pallor.

“Yeah, just need a minute to myself.”

“How about I go check on Tommy for you and come right back.”

The moment Aisha mentioned Tommy’s name, she saw the color streak into Kim’s cheeks, and her eyes start to well again. Yeah, they had it bad… nothing, not even nine years had dulled it.

“Tell him I love him, okay?” Kim asked, smiling brightly at the thought of seeing Tommy at the end of the aisle in minutes and finally starting their *married* life together.

“I will. Hang tough girlfriend, I’ll be back soon, and then we’ll get you two married,” Aisha said as she smiled and nodded, and then turned to leave. 

She closed the door softly, leaving Kim to some silence, solitude and her own thoughts.

-x-

Ethan, Kira, Conner and Trent all stood at the back of the church, watching the different former rangers at their seats or wandering around before the service started. It was like a bigger version of the ranger reunion Kim and Tommy had thrown days earlier. Already they’d identified rangers that had served as space rangers and turbo, and there were a few others in attendance that they hadn’t been able to identify yet.

“You look good all cleaned up Kira,” Conner remarked with a big smile, as he regarded her figure in the bridesmaid dress, slightly longer than was polite.

“So do you guys,” she fired back, having noted the men in their suits, their ties blue, red and white striped with black and as befit their ranger status, but she stared at Conner as he looked her way, and then he finally averted his gaze.

“Do you think they can pull this off without Mesogog sending a monster and disrupting things?” Ethan asked idly, and both Conner and Kira glared at him, Trent looking off uneasily away from the others at the suggestion.

“Be quiet! Do you want to jinx it?” Conner asked, wondering what his friend was thinking tempting fate like that.

But the words were out, and with them, Kira felt a deep dread fill her stomach.

-x-

Tommy nervously paced in the back of the vestibule, waiting for Jason to get back. His dad had given up trying to calm down his son, and had simply wished him luck and went out to sit with his wife. David sat in a chair across the way from his brother, having done what he could to keep him calm, but once he realized it was futile, he’d all but given up. At one point he’d thought of having Sam come in, but he was sure that Tommy wasn’t about to listen to anything or anyone right at the moment and he didn’t want to ask Sam to get up from his seat.

Suddenly the door opened and Tommy’s best man strode in, his face plastered with a grin. David watched as his brother’s eyes lightened at the sight of his long-time friend. While David had been honored when Tommy asked him to be a groomsman, he hadn’t begrudged his brother’s wish to have Jason stand up for him. The two had been through more than he and Tommy had, and were as close as brothers could be. As well, Jason had known Tommy and Kim for years, while he’d only met his brother’s very kind and attractive fiancé in the last few days. Overall, it was Tommy’s day, and David was simply to have the chance to see his brother happy.

“Jason!” Tommy said with a grin edged with fear.

“Hey bro,” Jason replied happily, reaching out to catch his friend in a hug before standing back to double check his attire.

Tommy’s tux was immaculate. Since it was black, there was no issue with his status. He’d decided though to try and represent all his ‘career’, and with the white tux shirt, green bow tie and cummerbund and a red rose in his lapel, he’d found a way to represent all his colors. Beside him, his best man stood at his side with a red tie/cummerbund combination while David was wearing straight black, since he hadn’t served and been identified with a color.

“She’s still there…” Jason stated seriously, leaving his hand on Tommy’s shoulder as a way to ground his friend, “and she’s just as nervous as you.”

“I don’t know how that could be,” Tommy replied, running a hand through his hair, messing it up even more. 

“Because she’s in love with you, and can’t believe you’re finally getting hitched is how,” Jason retorted, and glanced over at Tommy’s brother. “You’d think that he would have figured this out by now.”

“He’s thick that way, you and I both know it,” David offered up, smirking at Jason as they discussed his brother in a way that they both understood from their time with him.

“Hey! I’m in the room, you know,” Tommy complained as his brother and his near-brother verbally berated him, and then moved away from Jason’s hand to pace the small space again. “It’s just… I’m scared to death she’s gonna change her mind, or that I’ll forget my vows or I’ll drop the ring…”

“Calm down, it’s gonna be fine. David and I will be right here, and we’ll get you though it… you’ll be married in no time. And if my watch isn’t running fast, we’ve got less than ten minutes until show time.”

A knock at the door brought them all up short, and David moved to open it up, opening it to reveal the maid of honor, and he pulled the door open, letting Aisha in. 

“And here’s the nervous groom,” Aisha said as she moved into the room, smiling at Jase and David as she moved to her former fearless leader, and crushed him in a hug which he happily returned. 

“Wow Aisha… you look great,” stated Tommy, holding her out at arms length to take in the sexy yellow dress she was wearing.

“You charmer,” Aisha admonished, swiping at his hands with a smirk, “but Kim looks *way* better. I just wanted to check in on you before everything starts, and tell you we’ll see you in a few minutes, okay? And Kim sends her love.”

“Send mine back.”

“All right guys, gotta go or we won’t get this show on the road.” Aisha stated and then hurried back out the door, leaving the three men alone again. Jason looked at his watch and realized it was time to go out and await the bride.

“You ready to do this?” Jason asked.

“I think I’ve been ready since we were seventeen,” Tommy replied seriously, and Jason could see in his friend’s face that he meant it.

“Then this is *way* overdue.”

With a clasp of his hand to Tommy’s shoulder, Jason led the three of them out to await Kim’s arrival at the altar.

-x-

Kim glanced at the clock, noting that the ceremony was supposed to start in two minutes, and Aisha and Kira hadn’t come back yet. Worried, she was just about ready to go and find out what the holdup was when she heard a knock at the door. 

“Hold on Aisha, I’ll be right there,” she called out with a sigh of relief, and she reached out for her bouquet of pink and white roses to get ready to head down the aisle.

She moved to the door and opened it, her mouth dropping open as her flowers fell from her hand to crash to the floor. 

-x-

Aisha had stopped to make sure that everything was in place, and now she and Kira were heading back to get Kim and head down the aisle. The music had started, and the parents had been seated. As she made her way towards the back of the church, she looked and saw the door to the bridal room open.

“Kim?” Aisha called as she got closer. 

The two of them saw the room empty and no sign of Kim. They hurriedly checked the garden, the restroom, anywhere where she might have taken a quick break, but found nothing. Once they realized that she wasn’t anywhere, they rushed into the main part of the church, and still shocked and dismayed at Kim’s disappearance didn’t even consider trying to be subtle about the fact that Kim was gone. 

“Tommy, Kim’s missing!” screamed Aisha from the back of the church, bringing everything to a sudden halt.


	39. With This Ring pt 2: My Strongest Weakness

Without Jason grabbing hold of his elbow, Tommy swore he would have collapsed at the news. Kim was gone… where, how… 

Aisha hurried up the aisle heading straight for Tommy, Jason and David with Kira trailing behind her. Around them, the guests and the reverend were all in turmoil. The bride had disappeared? What was going on?

“Did she, I mean, I know you said she was nervous, but…” Tommy all but stammered, his fear of being abandoned by Kim again unconsciously bubbling up. 

“Bro, everything was fine when I left her,” Jason assured him, knowing where his near-brother’s headspace was probably going, but wanting to wait for what Aisha had to say before forming any conclusions.

Kira and Aisha arrived at the altar area, with the former yellow ranger taking hold of Tommy’s arm, her head swiveling to note the murmurings and confused questions floating through the guests in attendance. Nervously she turned back to Tommy and the guys, knowing suddenly realizing that this conversation shouldn’t be played out in front of everyone.

“Tommy, I think maybe we should *all* take this elsewhere,” Aisha said softly.

Nodding, Tommy turned and looked at the reverend, and then to the rest of the gathered guests.

“Everyone, the wedding is going to be delayed. I’m sorry and we’ll call everyone soon with news on when we’ll be moving it to. David, can you please make sure everyone gets taken care of?”

His brother nodded and stepped down from his place beside Jason, heading to the families. With that resolved Tommy turned with Jason, Aisha and Kira and headed back down the aisle towards the back of the church where Kim had been. As they passed him, Adam caught the look Tommy gave him; it was one that he knew meant for him to follow his ‘leader’, and he got up from the pew and quickly moved to catch up with them. 

As they got closer to the door to the dressing room used for the bride, Tommy felt a chill go up his spine. Even after all this time, the doubt just wouldn’t go away; he couldn’t help the little voice in the back of his mind suggesting that she’d changed her mind and left him standing at the altar.

But the scene that greeted them at the doorway of the room Kim and the bridal party had been using immediately and permanently ushered that thought out of his head. He could see the black marks where a scuffle must have taken place, and Kim’s bouquet of pink and white roses was crushed, most likely under foot as whatever had occurred had taken place. 

“Looks like our Kim put up a fight,” Jason stated as he looked at the carnage at the doorway before he and Adam moved carefully into the room, finding Kim’s tiara lying on the floor as they entered, the veil ripped and some of the rhinestones scattered across the floor.

Tommy bent to retrieve the smashed bouquet where it sat forlorn in the entryway, his eyes closing tightly as fear started to clutch his heart in his chest like a vise. He had no doubt now that Kim had not gone voluntarily. But who or what had her was unclear… 

“Tommy!” called out Adam, and he stood up, dropping the ruined bouquet and hurried into the room to see what had Adam so agitated.

“I found this,” Adam stated, lifting Kim’s morpher cuff from where it had smashed into the standing mirror, having most likely been thrown from somewhere in the room.

“But that doesn’t make any sense. Who would…” he stammered as Adam placed the gauntlet into his hand.

“She was wearing it right before we left Dr. O,” Kira informed him, confused at what could have happened to her friend. 

“Maybe whoever took her knew what it was, and got rid of it when they grabbed her,” Jason speculated absently. “Someone who was after her, or after you, knowing how to hurt you…”

As the words passed Jason’s lips, Tommy froze. It couldn’t be…

Still, it all made sense, and he suddenly put it all together. Mesogog hadn’t shown the slightest interest in Kim specifically since she’d been with him, and certainly not since she got her powers. She had simply been a member of the team; another ranger to deal with, which had made him disregard the idea that Mesogog would have taken Kim now.

But he’d forgotten that there was still one other person who’s sole purpose was to cause him pain and had vowed to find his weaknesses and exploit them. The error he’d made was in assuming he’d killed him.

Mentally he berated himself for not waiting until they’d gotten rid of Mesogog and *all* his lackeys. But he’d been so confident that *he* was dead, Tommy had let his guard down. Back when Kim was still in Boston, he’d set up security for her for a reason. Yet nothing had happened, and he had assumed that she wasn’t a target. Then he had thought he’d killed the *thing*, stopping any future attacks. He should have realized that if he had escaped, so could his enemy.

Now Tommy realized that he might have just lost Kim forever with his impatience to finally marry her, for his enemy had been smart enough, angry enough to wait for the perfect moment to reappear and take his revenge. 

“Zeltrax,” Tommy whispered under his breath.

“Who?” Aisha questioned, feeling lost.

“But… Oh my God!” cried Kira, realizing what was going on now and turned to the door at a run to find Ethan, Trent and Conner.

Trembling with barely checked rage, Tommy raised his gaze to Adam, Aisha and Jason. What they saw there scared them more than facing any of the evil they’d seen before. For Jason, it was like looking into the eyes of the evil green ranger, only he knew that this was Tommy…

“Aisha, please make sure that David is doing all right with getting Kim’s family and mine back to their hotels. Explain that there were some problems and that Kim and I will call them soon, and then come back to join the rest of us outside,” Tommy gritted out, his teeth clenched.

She nodded, and quickly fled the room.

“Jase, Adam, go out to the church and bring every former and active duty ranger back to the patio outside in the garden next to the reverend’s office. We’re having a ranger meeting. Now!”

“Tommy, you’re not thinking…” Jason began, and stopped when he saw the blazing look in his friend’s eyes.

“Zeltrax survived, and he waited until now to take her to get back at me. If I know him, he’ll have taken her to the one place that’s the most secure… Mesogog’s island. We’re going to find a way in there, and then I’m going to find her, even if I have to rip the place apart with my bare hands, I’m getting her back!”

Jason and Adam stood and stared at their friend as he stared at Kim’s pink dino gem embedded in her gauntlet.

“I will *not* lose her again,” he said under his breath.

-x-

Kim slowly woke up and realized that she wasn’t in the church. Her head ached, and she noted that she was strapped tightly to some kind of metal chair or something in what seemed to be a lab. It was something from one of her worst nightmares; the time Lord Zedd had nearly killed her by trying to drain her powers. She fought to master her fear, even though she had no idea what had happened or what was going on… The last thing she remembered had been fighting…

Shit, she thought apprehensively, where the hell was she anyway?

“You’re my guest,” said a voice from behind her. “I apologize for interrupting your plans, but my loyal servant was adamant about this being the opportune time to crush the rangers.”

“You’re kidding, right?” Kim fired back, even though she couldn’t see who she was speaking too.

“Actually, no. Your guard was down, and Zeltrax has been waiting so long to make his reappearance and finally take his revenge on Dr. Oliver.”

Finally the owner of the voice came into view, and Kim’s eyes widened. The humanoid that walked into the light surrounding her wasn’t a man, or even a monster… he, it was some kind of dinosaur hybrid thing. It was then that she realized just who this was.

“Mesogog…” she breathed, her voice tinged with new apprehension.

“Ah, yes, we haven’t met Ms. Hart, but I guess my reputation must have preceded me.”

As Mesogog moved to stare at her, Kim noticed finally the person/thing that she’d fought with at the church, and from the headache she was feeling now, it must have knocked her unconscious. The armor he wore was crimson red, and he seemed to glower at her with malice; just him staring at her made her feel like her skin was burning. Mesogog noticed her attention drawn away from him, and turned to see where she was looking at.

“Ah yes, you recognize Zeltrax, do you? He finally had a brilliant idea, capturing you.”

Kim tried not to stare. She had never seen the thing called Zeltrax that used to be Tommy’s friend Smitty. Tommy had said he’d killed him! Yet here he was… she carefully shook her head, forcing back the pain there and drew on her inner strength to fire back at the monster that had her captive. She had to get the hell out of this place.

“You realize this was probably the most stupid thing you could have done,” Kim shot at Mesogog, fighting now against the straps holding her in place.

“Maybe, but it most certainly will provide me a much better bargaining position with Dr. Oliver than I’ve had before.”

“He’ll never give you what you want.”

“To save you, my dear… I think he’ll do anything,” Mesogog slurred, running a claw along the skirt of her wedding dress.

“Please,” she fired back in a sarcastic tone, “I don’t need him to save me.”

“Really?”

As Kim rubbed her wrist against the straps she felt the material cut into her skin and realized that her morpher bracelet was gone. Her face paled slightly, and she frowned, staring Mesogog straight in the eye.

“Zeltrax thought you might be potentially dangerous had you kept your trinket, so he left it behind.”

“I don’t need it to kick your scaly dino hide,” she nearly snarled.

“Brave words for someone at my mercy. But no matter, we’ll have lots of time to chat before Dr. Oliver makes his concession.”

With that, he turned and headed from the room, the sliding metal door swishing shut behind him.

It was only then that Kim let her eyes drift shut as her heart called out in a silent prayer for Tommy to find her.

-x-

Gathered with Tommy in the paved courtyard, surrounded by trees, the side of the church and the reverend’s office was a virtual history of the power rangers. Billy, Zack and Jason were there from the first team; Rocky, Adam, Kat and Tanya from the second through third; TJ, Cassie, Ashley, Carlos and Andros from the turbo and then space rangers era; Wes from the Time Force team and Cole from Wild Force.

And then there was his new team: Kira, Conner, Trent and Ethan.

The crowd of wedding guests and rangers were all anxious and concerned. While some knew Tommy and Kim, others didn’t and the whole idea of them being called together by the man who had been considered the longest serving and best ranger had them on edge. It only took a few more moments before the first question was launched.

“What’s up?” TJ asked, thinking that there had to be a reason for his predecessor to have asked them there.

“What happened?” questioned Kat, concerned about Kim and Tommy’s mental state.

“Is there still a wedding?” Cole inquired, confused.

“All right boss man, just tell us what you need,” said Rocky, looking for all the world like he was ready to take whatever order Tommy gave, just as many of the others around him who had served with Tommy did.

Little did they know that was exactly what was going to happen.

The questions had been coming at him in rapid fire succession, and Tommy finally held up his hand to silence everyone. Once the group quieted, he looked around the group of friends and fellow rangers before he began.

“Kim’s been kidnapped,” he said simply, tightly as everyone murmured or gasped in shock. “She didn’t go willingly, and they knew enough to strip her of her morpher. Based on what I know, I believe Zeltrax, one of my enemies took her to attack me. I thought I’d killed him, but I was wrong. Now it would be easy enough if I only had to deal with him, but he’s the henchman of the evil sociopathic tyrant, a mutated dinosaur named Mesogog that the current ranger team has been fighting. Based on that, I can guess where she is, and that’s where you all come in.”

Jason and Adam looked to each other. Both had known Tommy long enough to guess what was coming next.

“I’m getting Kim back from Mesogog’s island, and I need a small ranger army to do it. I want volunteers to help me destroy Mesogog once and for all, and rescue Kim.”

“You call, we answer,” stated Rocky quickly, stepping forward. “I’m in.”

“We’ll get Kim back for you Dr. O,” announced Conner, moving up, with Kira, Ethan and Trent following him.

“This is what we do, isn’t it? Help people? Well, I think I speak for the space team when I say that we’ll help,” Andros remarked, stepping up to match the others who had announced their intentions, with the rest of the space rangers right behind him.

“Bro, you know I’ve got your back, as always,” Jason stated, moving up to place his hand on Tommy’s shoulder and into the line of volunteers. 

And before Tommy knew it, one by one everyone had stepped forward, nearly encircling him in support. It was right then, in that moment that he realized again just what the legacy of being a power ranger was. They were there for one another, willing to be heroes even when they no longer had to be.

“Anyone who has a morpher that works, raise your hand.”

Again a series of hands raised, more than Tommy had expected. In fact, when he finished looking, the only hand not raised was Hayley’s. He cocked his head to the side as he regarded them all, wondering how lucky he was that they’d chosen to come to a ranger wedding with their morphers, even if they no longer needed to serve or had the full power to do so. 

“All right then. Hayley, Billy, give each person directions to the command center. Everyone go get your ‘gear’ if you don’t have it with you and meet at my place. Once you get there, Billy and Hayley will make any adjustments to ensure your powers will stay stable while we’re in the field, and if necessary do whatever they have to so that you’re on the team. I need you to all ready to go and familiarized with what we’re up against, so Hayley and the new team will give you a full rundown. Kira, Ethan, Trent and Connor, you need to make your excuses to your families before you head over there. I’ll join you all there as soon as I can.”

With that, the group hurriedly turned and headed for the series of vehicles sitting in the parking lot, a flurry of dresses and suits as they all made their way to get prepared for action. 

“What about you bro?” Jason asked briefly once they were alone again.

“I’ll catch up. I just need a little while, you know?”

The ache in Tommy’s voice was clear to his friend, and he knew that the fear of losing Kim was most likely eating away at him. Simply nodding, Jason clutched Tommy’s shoulder briefly once more, and went to follow the others, leaving Tommy standing alone in the wooded courtyard. 

-x-

“So, you’re the new pink ranger and the love of Tommy’s life,” said a cold voice from behind Kim, surprising her into alertness.

Straining to look, Kim pushed herself up on the chair and wrenched her neck to watch Trent’s armored white uniform walk towards her. Her heart leapt at the sight, and she struggled against the straps holding her in place.

“Trent! How did you get here? Help me get loose!”

Kim stared at Trent, still struggling against her restraints and was shocked as he wandered away from her, his movements showing his unwillingness to release her from where she lay strapped to the chair. As he turned back to her, she felt rather than saw the evil grin behind the helmet.

“It’s funny how ironic this is that I get to use the black ranger to accomplish my goals.”

“What are you talking about? What happened?” she asked, realizing that this was not the normal personality of her new young friend. “If somehow you’ve been turned evil again, I can help you… Tommy, Kira, we all can…”

“Help me? You foolish ranger. You see, Zeltrax and Mesogog are deluded enough to think they can negotiate with Oliver for your release. They don’t understand that in kidnapping you that they’ve declared war. And I know that your lover will do anything to get you back… including ringing Mesogog… or actually Anton Mercer’s neck in the process.”

“Mercer is Mesogog?” Kim breathed in shock, her mind barely being able to process everything that had happened since being attacked by Zeltrax.

“And Trent is his dearest son,” the white ranger said, “Luckily I’m not him.”

In a flash, Kim realized in horror her error. This wasn’t Trent, but the copy of him that Zeltrax had made. One that was fully evil. But what confused her was his interest in destroying Mesogog. She thought he was on the bad guys’ side… Instantly she switched tactics, going into her sharp tongued offense that she used against Mesogog.

“Why do you want Mesogog destroyed? Aren’t you his lap dog or something?”

The evil laugh of the white ranger chilled her to her bones. Even Zedd hadn’t sounded so cold blooded. This thing before her posing as a ranger was just as ruthless as his dinosaur-like master.

“Please, you could never grasp my reasons. Besides, your just being here has proven that I’m not anyone’s pawn. In fact, I may just be the king on this chessboard before the day is through…”

With that, he turned on his heel and stalked out again, his cold laugh nearly freezing Kim’s blood in her veins. Things, she realized, had suddenly gone from bad to worse.

-x-

Tommy stood alone at the end of the red carpeted aisle, having entered the church and now stared at the altar, his hands clutching Kim’s morpher/bracelet. The red, pink and white roses decorating the front of the church really were beautiful, he thought idly. It would have been a beautiful wedding…

As soon as the thoughts entered his head, he berated himself for them. It still would be a beautiful wedding, even if it wasn’t today. They could do this again, just as soon as he and the team got Kim back.

“Thomas?” suddenly called a female voice from behind him that he knew like his own, the sound of it nearly freezing him in place.

Whirling around, Tommy shoved Kim’s bracelet into his pocket as he found himself staring at the group of people he couldn’t face right now.

“Mom, Dad? David?” he started, and then realized they weren’t alone. Sam Trueheart was there along with Kim’s parents and brother.

“What’s going on here son?” James Oliver asked his son as he moved up to grasp his arm.

“I thought David was taking you all back to the hotel…”

“You thought we’d just leave and wait to see what was going on? Where’s my daughter Tommy?” Caroline Hart Dumas asked forcefully. 

Tommy found himself emotionally drowning. He didn’t have a lie in mind to explain what had happened, and without Kim there to explain to her parents… Without realizing it, he turned to David and found a pair of understanding eyes. Ones that seemed calm in the midst of the chaos, as if he didn’t seem surprised about the turn of events. 

“Did you know?” Tommy asked David point blank, nearly moving on him in anger. “Did Sam give you some kind of clue? Could this have been prevented?”

“I… Tommy, you and I both know that danger follows you around…” David stated seriously, yet placating as he looked at his brother, willing him to remember that he and Sam knew about his… past, even if no one else did.

“What?” cried both sets of parents aloud at this sudden revelation.

“But you’re just a high school teacher,” Jan Oliver said, now more lost than ever.

Before he could open his mouth, Sam had moved from near the back of the group to stand at Tommy’s side. Glancing from David to Tommy, he nodded sagely and stared into the younger man’s chocolate brown eyes.

“Thomas, it is time to let go of the last burden you carry. Reveal the secret that keeps you from sharing your pain with your loved ones. It is what you must do to put at ease all who care for you and your beloved. It will be the only way to be at peace, to be focused, which you must be if you are to hear the call of your soul mate and retrieve her,” stated Sam.

As the words sunk in, Tommy realized the full import of what Sam was suggesting and he nearly staggered.

“Sam, I *can’t*!”

“Tommy, please… if you know something,” began Kim’s father.

“Tommy, you have to tell us what happened,” James urged his son.

“You wouldn’t believe me if I did,” Tommy rebutted quickly, his mind whirling with Kim’s kidnapping, the planned assault on Mesogog’s island, his and Kim’s families questions, and the insistence of Sam for him to ‘come clean’.

“Try us,” Jan stated firmly, and Tommy saw the determination on his mother’s face mirrored in everyone.

Looking at the people around him, his family, Kim’s… people that meant so much to him, he knew that he might be putting them in danger by revealing this secret, but Sam had never steered him wrong. He had David in his life, knew something about his true parents and even had Kim wearing his mother’s engagement ring because of the elderly Native American shaman. If he said telling them the truth would help him get Kim back… He would move heaven and Earth to have her back in his arms, and if telling his family and hers their secret to rescue her was what was required to do it, he wouldn’t pause another moment.

“Mom, Dad, Mr. Hart, Mrs. Dumas… there is something that neither Kim or I have told you. Something that we’ve kept from all of you since we first dated in Angel Grove… and, well I don’t know how to say this, so I’ll just ask you to bear with me for a moment, and to hold on tight.”

With that said, Tommy did the only thing he could think of to do. He shoved his tuxedo jacket sleeve up, popped the cuff button and exposed his gauntlet. With a little nod of his head to Sam, the older man reached over and guided James Oliver back as Tommy stepped backwards.

“Kim and I have been and are currently power rangers,” Tommy said simply, and then called on his powers as he went into his morphing sequence, “Dino Thunder, Power up!”

In a bright light, his armor and helmet enveloped him, replacing his tux, and he stood there in his black and gold uniform. Sam and David smiled, nodding their approval while his parents looked shocked. Kim’s mother was tightly holding onto her new husband, desperately trying to keep from passing out while Kim’s father and brother were equally in awe and in disbelief.

“Tommy?” his father said, walking up to the ranger who seemed to have magically appeared where his son had been.

Before his dad could get any closer, Tommy reached up and popped the latches of his helmet, pulling it off to show everyone that it really was him under the suit.

“It’s me dad. I’m sorry I couldn’t tell you about this before, but…”

“You needed to keep it a secret,” his mom stated suddenly understanding, and Tommy nodded, his throat tightening at the proud look on his mother’s face, even as she seemed to be on the verge of crying.

“How long?” James asked, starting to come to grips with his son’s sudden revelation. “You said since Angel Grove…”

“Not long after we moved there. It’s a long story, but that’s sort of how Kim and I…”

“Kim really was a ranger?” Caroline nearly stammered, shaking herself out of her stupor.

“She is one now. And that’s part of why she’s been kidnapped,” Tommy stated, and as the horrified looks crossed their faces, he mentally berated himself; they didn’t know. “But we’re going to get her back. The rest of the current rangers, and some of the former ones are going to help me get her back. So for now, I need you all to go back to the hotel where it will be safe, and Kim and I will call you as soon as it’s over.”

“Isn’t there anything we can do?” Kim’s father asked, and Tommy smiled. While the man hadn’t always been there for Kim, he was showing his dedication to his daughter’s welfare now.

“I wish there was. I guess you can just wish us all luck that we get to Kim soon.”

With that, Jan and James nodded and then threw their arms around their son. Tommy encircled them with his arms as best he could, his helmet in his hands.

“Take care son,” said James. “You go and bring back that future daughter in law of ours, and we’ll talk about all this later.”

Tommy went to Kim’s family, his face a picture of seriousness.

“I’ll bring her back. I promise,” he vowed.

“We know you will Tommy. Just like I know you’ll always love her,” Caroline stated, and Tommy grinned and leaned over to kiss her cheek politely.

“You’d better go,” Sam informed Tommy in a serious tone. “The others are waiting on you to lead them.”

Nodding, Tommy paused only long enough to hug the older man, and then turn to his brother.

“You know I wish I could come with you,” David said, staring at his brother with a sad yet proud look.

“So do I, but its too dangerous.”

“Go get Kim.”

With that, Tommy put his helmet back on, snapping it in place and rushed out of the church, heading for the command center and the battle with Mesogog for the ultimate prize… Kim.


	40. With This Ring pt 3: All’s Fair in Love and War

Kim swiveled her head wildly as the doors slid open again. She’d just about gotten to the point where she was wondering when they were coming back. The long periods of silence worried her. As long as it was quiet and Mesogog or one of his goons weren’t tormenting or talking to her, that meant they still had the upper hand, and a rescue was still to come.

But, she continued to remind herself that if Tommy was coming, which she knew he would, she had to buy him time to figure out how to get to her. And by keeping Mesogog and his cronies talking, she could hopefully do that.

She heard footsteps and then Mesogog walked in. Behind him this time was more than just Zeltrax in his stunningly bright red armor, but a chick in black leather. Now, she thought, she needed to keep them off balance and talking, because talking meant they weren’t attacking Tommy and the others.

“Wow, I’m impressed Mesi. I wouldn’t have picked you as the kinda guy that liked leather bar chicks. But honey, the makeup is a bit much,” Kim teased as she watched the woman following Mesogog, waiting to see if the bitch was soft or if she was going to be trouble.

Suddenly Elsa stalked over to the chair and swiftly backhanded Kim across the face. As soon as she snapped her head back to glare at her, Kim realized that the leather chick was going to be of the latter category.

“Such nice friends you have.”

“I’m sorry, we haven’t been properly introduced, although after we’re done with you, it might be a waste of breath but… I’m Elsa.”

“And this should mean something to me?”

“I forget. You and your silly fiancé Dr. Oliver have no idea I’ve been keeping tabs on him for the last year.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Kim questioned angrily.

“You see my dear, once my master realized that your precious Dr. Oliver was coming here, to Reefside for a power source, he sent me to watch him. And I have…as Reefside High School’s Principal Randall.”

Kim was stunned for a moment, wondering if Tommy had any idea… and then she immediately pushed it aside. She couldn’t let them throw her…

“Oh joy! Well, at least I can tell Tommy your pathetic attempts to pick him up were out of evil intent,” referring to Randall’s behavior that had prompted Kira to e-mail Kim about her hitting on Tommy.

“Ah yes, that little game I played with him. Had I known he liked petite brunettes, I would have made more of an effort to change my look,” Elsa stated with a cold fury, her hand tossing back her dark mane.

“Please, you can’t hide skank with a wig,” Kim verbally swiped at Elsa, earning her another slap across the face.

“Enough Elsa. We need our guest in good condition. At least until Oliver gets here,” Mesogog demanded, instantly making Elsa back up.

Kim’s face went white. He knew…

“I’m sure that Oliver and his pathetic excuse for heroes will be here soon,” Mesogog stated, as if answering Kim’s mental comment. “They more than likely have deduced where you are by now, and we plan to have a welcoming committee ready when they arrive. Then they will have a choice… hand over their dino gems, or watch you die my dear. And we know your dear Doctor Oliver will fall on his sword for you.”

“You don’t know what you’ve done,” Kim said in a low, dark tone.

“We’ll see.”

With that, he and the others swept out of the room, once again leaving Kim alone. Then her mind struck on a hole in his plot. He’d said he would demand the dino gems from the team coming to rescue her as the price to save her life. That meant he didn’t know…He had no idea he’d picked the worst possible time to try and force Tommy and the team into bending to his will.

If her love and the leader of three power rangers teams had thought of what she was sure he had, Mesogog had a rude awakening coming his way.

-x-

Tommy stood with the current team to either side of him, and the others flanking him. To one side stood Jason and the original team members of the dino, ninjetti, zeo and turbo powers. On the opposite side was the second Turbo team who had become the space rangers, along with Cole from the Wild Force team and Wes from Time Force. Behind him, Hayley and Billy manned the console, and they turned to listen to Tommy’s announcement. 

With the teams nearly surrounding him, he cleared his throat and prepared to hand out the assignments. 

“I’m breaking us up into three teams,” he stated, looking around the room at the different rangers as they awaited his orders, as if he was their general. 

He forced himself to stand a little straighter, living up to the image that many had of him as the greatest ranger ever. They expected him to have all the answers, but he’d had precious little time to build a game plan. Years of being the leader though had ingrained in him the process of executing battle plans, and he’d always excelled at it. Still, all he had for this one was the bare bones of a plan; yet it was one that he didn’t think Mesogog would be prepared for. As it was, they were at a huge advantage… Mesogog had no idea that he had a literal army at his command. 

“Team one is TJ’s. With you are Cassie, Ashley, Carlos, Andros, Cole and Wes. Your job is to secure the portal point and keep the hallways clear and provide us a way out. If that portal gets closed or taken over by Mesogog’s goons before we get back, no one is going home.”

TJ nodded. He was actually glad of the assignment. While some might have thought the task was the least of them, he knew that he was responsible for getting everyone home in one piece. As well, he still had something that he had to make up for… it had been on *his* watch that the command center, the first command center had been destroyed. It was a failing that he was still trying to make up for, and he knew this might be his last chance to do that in Tommy’s eyes.

“Team two is Jason’s. You have Adam, Kat, Aisha, Zack, Tanya and Rocky. You’re the secondary incursion team. You’ll need to take on all resistance between the main objective and the exit point. I have no doubt we’ll get slammed, and you’ll need to dispatch any oncoming reinforcements so we can get out.”

As much as Jason wanted to go with Tommy, he knew that they needed the teams and that his group had a vital role; they would make sure Tommy could get to Kim and that they could all get back to the portal. To their advantage, he had people he could trust, people he knew and in some cases served with as a leader, others as a team mate. Without thinking, he turned to Zack and the two clasped arms, smiling at the prospect of being back in action together after so many years.

“Team three is with me, we’re the primary assault team. I’m going to be taking the new dino team: Kira, Ethan, Conner and Trent. We’ll go into the main part of the complex, first the lab, then the other areas, with Jason’s team backing us up and locate Kim. If we can destroy Zeltrax, Mesogog and his other henchmen, we will. But the first priority is Kim.”

Kira, Trent, Conner and Ethan glanced at all the older, more experienced rangers and saw them looking back with respect and support. It was in that single moment that the four of them felt that they really *were* rangers.

“Hayley, you and Billy are going to get us there, keep an eye on us and get us back. I’m relying on both of you. I’m putting everyone’s lives in your hands.”

“You have one hour,” Hayley said seriously, feeling the responsibility of their task weighing on her like a Buick. “Any longer, and I can’t guarantee the portal will still be stable… you might not get back here.”

“But we’ll hold it as long as we can past that if you’re not through,” said Billy, and gave Hayley a look that said that they *could* do anything they put their minds to. “Good luck.”

“Let’s go,” Tommy said, “Power up.”

With that, the teams pulled their different morphers and in a bright flash of light and sounds, the room was suddenly filled with rangers; Jason and Zack and Aisha in the original dino ranger uniforms, Adam, Kat, Tanya and Rocky in their Turbo uniforms, Ashley, Andros, TJ, Cassie and Carlos in their Space ranger uniforms, Wes in his Time Force uniform, Cole in his Wild Force suit and the new Dino Thunder team in their armor. 

Once everyone was in uniform, Tommy turned and headed out through the command center bunker to the forest, the others following. Before them there was a slight pinpoint of dark light, and lightning began to crackle and crash around them. Some of the rangers who weren’t familiar with the portal technology nearly jumped, but Tommy’s raised fist held everyone in place as the portal opened up.

Then, with an authority that he’d never had, and a desperation and drive he never wanted, he waved his hand forward and strode into the portal, followed by a ranger army.

-x-

The second that Tommy stepped onto the metal flooring of Mesogog’s base, he was shocked with a sensation in his gut… he could almost feel Kim like she was standing beside him, and it took all his will power to wait for everyone rather than race off in search of her. Slowly the small corridor began to fill with rangers in a wide variety of colors and armor. When the last member of TJ’s team came through, Tommy turned and clasped TJ’s hand.

“May the power protect you,” Tommy stated seriously, and TJ’s hand tightened on Tommy’s.

“Same to you,” he replied, “We’ll be waiting for you.”

Nodding, Tommy spun and headed off towards the area he thought was the center of the complex, his team and Jason’s following. They flew down the corridor, seeing nothing and no resistance. Had they been lucky enough to have entered the complex without being detected, Tommy wondered. But he knew in his gut that Mesogog knew he was there, just like he knew Kim was too. He was just waiting…

Suddenly the entire labyrinth of passageways was bathed in red light, sirens began to sound and they all knew then that the battle was upon them. From in front of and behind them, Tyrano-drones appeared, their spike-covered countenances swarming over them. Tommy knew that as they were being attacked, so to would TJ’s team, and he hoped that they all were up to the task.

Within moments they were upon them, a wave of fists, feet and razor-like spines that cut into their forces with sudden violence. Jason and Tommy pushed into the onslaught, leading their fierce ranger teams behind them, throwing punches and blocking hits in a flurry of mind-numbing action. The corridor provided little maneuvering space, forcing both teams to fight hand to hand, increasing the danger that a stray throw of a punch or a tossed enemy might crash into an ally. Seasoned rangers fought along side the newer ones, the strength and energy of Tommy’s new team and the fear for their own lives as well as Kim’s spurring the rusty skills of the original ranger teams to increase their attacks, pushing back against the tidal wave of drones that continued to advance as fast as they could dispatch them. As the fury of the battle increased, Tommy and Jason both instinctively knew that their teams had to split up now, or they’d all be embroiled in this battle and they’d be unable to reach Kim before the portal closed.

“Go!” Jason yelled, violently throwing a tyrano-drone across the floor and nearly hitting Tanya where she was angrily trading blows with another of the foot soldiers. “Get Kim… we’ll do our part.”

The two men shared a look, even through their visors, and Tommy inclined his head slightly and turned to his team.

“Let’s go. Kira, blow us a hole through them,” Tommy barked at her in his leader voice.

She nodded and let loose her terra scream, tossing dozens of the drones away and clearing them a path. Hurriedly, Tommy charged forward, the rest of the dino thunder rangers following him as they hurried past the downed drones, knowing they’d be up soon and either engaging Jason’s team or following them. In the small space where the evil that had taken root in Tommy so many years ago, he hoped that it was the former, because he had other battles to take on.

The team turned the corner, the sound of fighting still echoing off the walls behind them when Tommy stopped short. He was sure…

“Kira, Conner, Ethan, wasn’t the lab here?” he asked in a stunned voice as they stood before an empty room.

“I…. I don’t remember,” Kira said, her only two occurrences being there having been when she’d been captured and when they’d come to rescue Dr. O… it was months ago…

“I don’t know where we are Dr. O,” Conner stated worriedly, and Ethan nodded as well, his helmet shining in the red light as he did so.

“Trent?” Tommy asked, suddenly remembering that the formerly evil white ranger had spent weeks in and out of their enemy’s lair.

“Dr. O… I…. I can’t,” he said, his voice cracking.

“Trent, what’s your problem? You probably know this place like the back of your hand,” Conner argued, his adrenalin pounding in his veins from the fight they’d just been in.

“I can’t…”

“Why not?” Kira said confused, moving over to Conner’s side.

Trent looked at the masks that covered the faces of his team mates, and knew that beneath the expressionless helmets their anger, frustration, fear and concern for Kimberly was threatening to explode. He’d made a promise to his father… but he couldn’t let Kim die or them die to keep it.

“Mesogog’s chamber, where he probably has Kim is down this corridor to the left, then up two more intersections, and into the center of the complex.”

“Why didn’t you just say so?” Ethan asked, frustrated at the white ranger wasting time they didn’t have.

“Because I need to protect him…”

“What?” they all said, except for Tommy. 

He’d known that Trent had a secret when he’d broken the evil spell on the white dino gem. As it was, he’d always wondered how Trent had broken the spell, and part of him had speculated that he’d had help. Now, with Kim’s life in the balance, he was going to have to press the issue, because if there was an ally in Mesogog’s camp, he wanted to know so they could use them… but if not…

“Protect who Trent? Tell me!” Tommy demanded, his voice not raising but sounding deadly serious.

Trent looked to the members of the team, realizing his dilemma. He’d neglected to tell them the truth, and now that lie, that omission was going to divide them. Still, he owed them all…

“Mesogog… he’s… he’s my father.”

The stunned silence that fell on them all was broken when Conner lunged at Trent, not caring that the white ranger was his friend. They’d given him chance after chance, only to be betrayed over and over again. And now, they were involved in an all out war when they could have resolved the Mesogog problem months ago.

“You rotten, lying son of a…” Conner yelled, cocking his arm back as if to let fly, when Ethan and Kira caught his arms and restrained him. “Let me go! He deserves…”

“To make amends,” said Tommy, interposing himself between them. “Trent’s our guide, and now we know that Mesogog isn’t fully evil. He’s the one who helped you break the spell on the dino gem, wasn’t he… Anton I mean.”

“Yeah… he can’t control it Dr. O. I know I should have said something before, but he’s my *father*. I owed him my silence.”

“I understand. But right now, I want you to know that if you can’t get Anton in control, *full* control, and I have to chose between killing him and losing Kim… I will finish him.”

There was no mistaking the steely determination in their mentor’s voice. He would do just that, and they found themselves accepting that possible outcome. Being a ranger was about protecting, but sometimes, just sometimes, you had to protect with deadly violence.

“Trent, lead the way. Hurry, we don’t have much time.”

The white ranger spun around and headed down the corridor, taking the corner at a blinding pace as Tommy and the others followed him. They quickly made their way through the labyrinth and suddenly met a group of tyrano-drones guarding the door Trent was headed for. As soon as Tommy laid eyes on the door before him, he knew she was there, just beyond the metal. He felt like he could tear the drones and the door down with his bare hands.

“Now!” yelled Conner, taking the leader role for his team, and the four younger rangers attacked, quickly spearing into the assembled drones and unleashing everything they had.

As soon as they did, Tommy realized their plan, one he hadn’t thought of. Quickly he used his power of invisibility and weaved his way unseen through the fighting as his team kept them occupied. Once he was beside the door controls, he quickly opened the door and rushed inside. In front of him he found Kim, alone and strapped to the chair that he’d been in so many months before.

Dropping his power, he hurried to her side.

“Tommy!” Kim cried from where she was still stuck to the table, overcome with the sight of her love in his uniform. Her rescue had arrived.

“Oh God Kim, I was so scared I’d lost… I’d kiss you but…” Tommy joked, noting his helmet before something flew past him and he ducked. Quickly he released the straps holding Kim down, and she leapt from the chair. “I brought you a little present.”

From beneath his glove on his right hand, he pulled her gauntlet and handed it to her. Kim’s face lit up, and she gave Tommy a wink. 

“Hurry up, we can’t hold them forever!” called Conner from behind them. 

Without a pause, Kim slapped the cool metal onto her arm, and quickly started to morph.

“Dino Thunder, Power Up!”

Almost as soon as her armor encased her, they heard a yell of anger and fury. In front of them, a door slid open and Mesogog entered the chamber, surrounded by another group of tyrano-drones. Kim and Tommy stood together, facing their enemy as the pair of them created a wall of warriors between him and the others. But they quickly realized that the door that Mesogog had entered and the one behind them weren’t the only ones.

“Whoa, heads up!” yelled Ethan as he saw Elsa and the now crimson armored Zeltrax emerge from a side door near the main entrance. They rushed in, heading towards Kim and Tommy.

Immediately Conner and Trent used their speed to zip into the main room with Dr. O and Kim, while Kira and Ethan continued to battle the waves of drones forcing them back into the chamber, towards the leaders of Mesogog’s tyranny and into the fire of all out war. Trent and Conner skidded to a stop beside Dr. O, falling into battle stance in preparation to engage Zeltrax and give their mentor some breathing room. 

Their efforts were useless however, as they went flying, sailing across the room and landing in the midst of the battle ranging between Kira, Ethan and the advancing tyrno-drones, Zeltrax’s single-mindedness in his pursuit of his former friend relentless in its intensity. Zeltrax immediately attacked Tommy, bringing his sword down and crashing against the black ranger’s chest, sending him flying backwards into the chair in the middle of the room. The black ranger’s back slammed against the metal, doubling him over with the force of the impact, and Zeltrax was on him again, faster than his eyes could track. 

He kicked out in his prone position, throwing Zeltrax off-balance and crashing into the metal paneling of the floor. They both jumped back up to their feet, ready to come to blows again. Tommy barely hesitated as he ran forward, intending to land a flying kick on his crimson armored foe only to have Zeltrax sweep his feet out from under him, throwing him back, Tommy’s helmet cracking loudly on the edge of the metal chair. 

Kim spun on her heel from where she’d been fighting with a Tyrano-drone, her soul knowing instinctively somehow that she needed to get to Tommy. She saw Zeltrax’s menacing form stalking towards Tommy’s prone and still form. Without thinking, she jumped into the fray as he lunged forward, sword in hand as he brought it down towards his enemy, catching Zeltrax’s wrists and holding with all her strength both his hands and the sword above her, keeping him from landing another blow on Tommy.

“Guess what, it’s a much fairer fight when I can do this,” she nearly growled as she leapt up, pulling both feet up and kicking outwards, landing the blow on his chest as she let go of his hands, sending him flying backwards, and then landed on her feet, whirling around to go to Tommy’s side.

Behind her, Kira, Ethan, Conner and Trent were fighting tooth and nail for every inch as they pushed back the tyrano-drones that had followed them into the chamber, their fierce dispatching of the drones slowing Elsa’s advance towards them, Dr. O and Kim. Realizing the other ranger’s plot to keep her from Oliver and his whore, Elsa tried to rush around the rangers, throwing drones into their path as she attempted to keep them occupied as she headed towards her prey.

“What, you don’t want to play with us? I’m hurt,” quipped Kira with anger in her voice as she threw a kick in the direction of Elsa’s side, the blow glancing off her as she hurried past. 

Less than a second later, a tyrano-drone rushed up behind Kira, sending her flying. The yellow ranger shoved herself up from the floor and rushed back into the fray, coming to fight back the drones pounding on her team mates.

Kim knew the rest of the team probably needed help, but she knew that Tommy would be the best person to do that. She had to get him on his feet and back into the fight, even if she had to distract Zeltrax to do it. But before she could get two steps towards Tommy, who to her relief was now getting up, she felt a blade kiss her back, sparks flying as it met her uniform and she fell forward, quickly rolling and then jumping up to find Elsa staring at her with malicious intent.

“Oh God, do we have to do the catfight thing? It’s so old,” Kim said, and avoided the next swing of Elsa’s sword. “How about we even things up and get rid of that?”

Kim executed a spin kick, sending Elsa’s sword flying, and then charged her, pushing them to the far side of the room.

“I guess we don’t rate,” Conner stated dejectedly as he watched Tommy and Zeltrax starting to engage in their deadly dance again as well as Kim struggling with Elsa when he felt a searing pain through his uniform and went crashing to the floor.

Trent, Ethan and Kira turned to find the final player that had been missing… the white ranger.

“You and I have some unfinished business,” he said to Trent, pointing his dagger at him. “There can be only one of us, and I prefer it to be me. The rest of you should take care of Trent’s dear old dad before he kills you all.”

The white ranger clone leapt forward, bringing his dagger down and across Trent’s armor, sending up sparks and throwing him backwards. Conner, Kira and Ethan were torn between helping Trent and going to make sure Mesogog didn’t enter the fray. The choice was made for them when another group of tyrano-drones swarmed in from behind the door where Mesogog stood, watching the battle with an imperialistic air.

It was all they could do to keep from being overwhelmed.

“Dr. O, this might be a good time to finish this,” Conner yelled over the crashing swords and sounds of fists and feet meeting metal and ranger armor.

The black ranger nodded, bringing his Brachiostaff down again on Zeltrax, cracking the crimson armor. Instead of staying down, Zeltrax rose again, almost faster than before and brought down his sword, which Tommy just barely blocked.

“God damn it Smitty, I don’t want to kill you!”

“That didn’t stop you last time, now did it?”

With that, Zeltrax stopped talking and lunged at Tommy again, his sword point preceding him. Tommy twisted away and brought the tip of his staff down on the space at the back of Zeltrax’s neck with the earthquake setting in place, the power of the energy harnessed in the staff sending him to the ground hard. Tommy stepped back and waited to see if he was getting up, and when he didn’t, he turned and rushed to find Conner, Kira and Ethan surrounded by drones, Kim and Elsa fighting and Trent doing battle with his double.

As much as he wanted to run to Kim’s side, he knew in his heart that Kim could take Elsa; if anyone could, it was her. But he knew that the kids needed his assistance first. With a rush, he went invisible and bowled through half the drones before they knew what hit them.

“Dr. O!” Ethan yelled, raising his armored arm to deflect the blow coming his way as he realized the invisible force tossing bad guys away had to be their mentor.

With Tommy among them, Conner, Ethan and Kira began to push back the attack, felling drones as they made their way towards where Trent and the white ranger clone battled.

“This is perfect… you’ll all perish in here, by my blade or by theirs. And when it is all over, I will rule in Mesogog’s place.”

“You’re crazy,” Trent yelled, bringing his own dagger down, only to have it blocked.

“No, I am practical. Dr. Oliver and Mesogog will destroy one another, and I will be able to destroy what is left of the opposition,” the evil white ranger laughed, his voice deep and ominous sounding.

“No!” Trent cried out in rage, and then turned on his speed to ram his clone, slamming them both against the wall. 

The force of the impact sent them flying, and it took Trent a few moments before he slowly pushed himself from the floor. With care he got up and hurried to join the others, hoping that he had enough time to help get the others out, and get his father back before his clone could regain consciousness. 

Across the room, Kim and Elsa continued to fight; the leather clad cyborg kicked at Kim, who caught her ankle and tossed her aside. Chasing her, Kim grabbed hold of the collection of dark braided hair and hauled the woman up. Elsa threw her elbow back, and caught Kim at the throat, making the pink ranger release her hold on her. With a quick twist, Kim was able to slip behind Elsa, swiftly catching both her arms and pinning them behind the cyborg. Then with a rush, she ran them forward, smashing Elsa’s face into the closest console, the machinery sparking at the impact, shattering glass which sliced into the cyborg’s face. 

What Kim didn’t know that the panel she’d sent Elsa into was more than just for show, as Mesogog roared from his spot by the back door to the chamber.

“No! Damn you, you’ll destroy my work!” he yelled, his red taloned fingers raking the air as his teeth gnashed in anger and frustration.

“Guys, some backup here?” Kim called out nervously as she realized that they were on the verge of being converged on by Mesogog.

Then, before she could move again, the panel blew up, setting half the room on fire, and the rest of the panels sparked as the electrical shorts spread across the machinery, arcs of current jumping from one panel to another, electrifying the panels nearby. 

“You will not defeat me… I refuse to lose to you!” Mesogog hissed, his reptilian nature reinforcing itself as he lunged at Kimberly. “We ruled the world for eons… I will not allow mere humans to drive my race to extinction!”

She caught his claws as they wrapped around her throat, fighting simply to keep him from closing fully around her neck. Mesogog pressed his advantage, leering at her while his teeth grimaced at her in a way so evil that Kim couldn’t remember seeing that look since Zedd had fought the rangers back in Angel Grove.

“Kim!” Tommy nearly screamed, turning to see Mesogog grasping Kim by the throat and then leapt over the fallen bodies of their defeated foes to get to her.

Once in the air, he poised himself for a flying kick, violently slamming his feet into Mesogog’s body, breaking the hold the monster hand on his lover, sending Mesogog into the far wall and Kimberly stumbling away. Tommy landed hard, his knees buckling to absorb the residual power of his blow, and he quickly stood to find Kim standing in battle stance, waiting for their enemy’s next move. He moved to her side, following her lead but knowing that this was it… if he couldn’t get Anton to take control of Mesogog now…

“Anton, you have a chance… break Mesogog’s hold and we can help you be rid of him forever.”

Deep, evil laughter filled the room as Mesogog rose slowly, his eyes trained on his arch nemesis and his rangers. 

“Mercer was just a tool Oliver,” he rasped, the look in his eyes hateful as he spoke to Tommy. “He thought he could break free of me, cure himself. He has no idea that he would have to die with me… he *is* me now!”

Suddenly around them the canisters holding the liquids and chemicals that Mesogog had used to create his monsters began to shatter from the heat of the growing flames, spilling their fluid across the floor which quickly added to the growing fire, sending up dark blue chemical flames that scorched the metal walls… and rapidly ran across the floor, blocking Mesogog’s advance on Tommy and Kim, cutting him off. 

Trent turned at the sound of growling and cursing to see Mesogog surrounded in flames, his hands clawing at the fire as he tried to find a way out, but found all his exits blocked with flames.

“Dad!” Trent yelled, rushing forward towards Mesogog and the fire.

“Trent, no!” screamed Kira, fearful that he’d be engulfed along with Mesogog… Anton… his father. The whole thing still was confusing.

“Dr. O, get everyone out of here!”

Kira stood beside Conner, his hand holding her in place. They all cared about Trent, but this was his decision. The three teens looked to their elder counterparts, hoping that they could change his mind.

“Trent, there’s nothing you can do,” Tommy said, reaching towards the white ranger, trying to will him to take his hand, move away from Mesogog and the encroaching flames.

“I don’t believe Mesogog. He’s lying! I can’t leave my father without trying to save him. I *have* to try. Look, I’ll follow you. Just go!”

The determination is Trent’s voice cut through Tommy. It sounded much like when he’d vowed to rescue Kim from Mesogog… Kim turned to Tommy, and as always, the communication between them snapped into place. Unless they physically tried to move him, there was no way Trent was leaving, and from the increasing smoke in the room, there was no guarantee how long they could stay before the room and then the whole complex crashed down around them. And they had other people that they were responsible for, that they needed to get out of the building too.

They had to go.

“Trent,” Tommy said solemnly, and the younger man turned to look at the older ranger. “You’ve done your uniform proud. We’ll see you at the basement.”

Trent nodded, and Tommy grabbed Kim’s hand and turned to run to the door, with Conner urging Kira before him, Ethan at his side.

And in the room where Trent had found his freedom from the evil spell on his gem, he fought to break another evil… the one holding his father prisoner in Mesogog’s body.

-x-

Tommy, Kim and the remaining rangers rushed back down the halls, Ethan leading as he remembered the way the best, until they converged on the continuing battle in the hallway. Jason’s team was still fighting, though the numbers of their opponents had dwindled. With reinforcements, they could clean the place up.

Before they could call out to give Jason and his crew a heads up that they were coming, they heard a loud boom, like an explosion back the way they’d come. Kira almost turned to go back, but Conner held her arm and pushed her forward. Trent had said he’d get out if he could; the fact that his father, Anton Mercer was to blame for all this, had made him feel as if it was his duty to try and save his father and make sure that the team could escape. And Conner respected that.

“Kira, we need to get through,” Conner said, nearly yelling over the sounds of the battle raging in front of them.

Nodding, Kira threw a terra scream at the tyrano-drones, sending them flying and some of the older rangers in Jason’s group wincing at the sound. They were still standing however, though Tommy noticed that Kat was holding her midsection, and Rocky looked like he was ready to fall over at any moment. Adam had Tanya at his side, and he noticed that she wasn’t putting any weight on her left ankle.

Still, they were alive and they’d held their ground. Hurriedly they ran to meet them.

“Sorry,” Kira said to Jason and his group as she and the dino thunder team ran to join them.

“Understood,” acknowledged Jason, who watched as Conner and Ethan hurried past them, with Tommy and a uniformed pink ranger that Jason knew had to be Kim bringing up the rear. “God Kim, we were worried. It’s good to ‘see’ you!”

“Likewise Jase. But let’s get the hell out of here before we celebrate,” Kim remarked tersely, realizing that there had to be more obstacles yet to come.

Nodding behind his red helmet, Jason called for his team to head back to the portal, urging everyone back to the rendezvous point that TJ’s team was defending as they ran from the oncoming heat, smoke and flames from the explosion.

-x-

The battle at the portal had been fierce ever since the alarms had sounded. TJ had fought hard not to let the tyrano-drones split their group. Andros had taken the other space rangers, while TJ had stayed shoulder to shoulder with Wes and Cole. They’d fought before, when Tommy had led the red rangers against the generals of the Machine Empire.

But the odds they’d faced were overwhelming.

They’d all been hurt in some way: Cole was limping from a slash to his leg that had gone through his uniform, Cassie was dazed from an extremely hard blow to her helmet, Ashley had injured her arm blocking one of the blows from a tyrano-drone, Carlos was holding his side where he’d been kicked with more force than he’d expected, throwing him into a wall and TJ, Andros and Wes were all utterly exhausted from taking on the remaining drones.

So it was with a sigh of relief and a cry of hope that they saw Tommy and Jason’s teams, along with another ranger in pink that they knew had to be Kimberly.

Tommy and Jason’s teams plowed into the remaining forces, engaging them in hand to hand. It was blistering, as the heat from the explosion started to radiate from the walls, the metal conducting and funneling the fire towards them.

There wasn’t much time, and Kira and Ethan turned to Conner and he recognized their intent. Reaching up, he called on the Shield of Triumph. As the gold gilded shield appeared, and his armor changed to incorporate the additional power drained from Ethan and Kira, he looked to his sides to find both Ethan and Kira collapsed on the floor. While they hadn’t unmorphed, the drain on their powers and from the battle had rendered them unconscious.

“Kira! Ethan!” he shouted helplessly, fearfully in the din the battle created. 

Conner knew he had to stop this, now… Kira and Ethan were vulnerable, and he was responsible for them; he refused to let anything harm them if he could stop it.

Using the power of the shield, he began to focus it, to send it outwards, when he felt a hand on his arm, and the power he was channeling nearly doubled. He chanced a glance to his side and found Kimberly clinging to his arm, and he could almost see the power from her feeding into the shield and into him. Suddenly he remembered that Dr. O and Trent had both infused the shield with their powers, and Kira and Ethan did the same. Kim was now adding her pink dino gem power as well, and it was beyond anything he’d experienced yet.

Long seconds passed and then Kim’s hand went limp, and Conner turned to see Dr. O appear at their side, catching Kim and picking her up. Around him, he observed Jason and Zack haul Ethan and Kira from the floor and they backed up, the others that weren’t injured defending them.

It was now or never, Conner thought, and he thrust the shield forward, sending forth a blast of pure white energy, disintegrating the tyrano-drones that had been in their path. 

The other rangers stood in awe as Conner turned and dismissed the shield, powering down to his normal state. He moved forward and took Kira from Zack, picking her up in his arms, similarly to how Dr. O carried Kim. Zack moved to help Jason hold Ethan between them.

“What about the white ranger?” TJ asked, shocked at the idea that Tommy would have left one of his team behind.

Tommy swung his head around, looking at the way they’d come through, now quickly being engulfed with flames. He’d never lost someone on his watch… but it was a decision to wait for one or make sure the rest were safe that had to be made. And being the leader made it his decision to make.

“If he’s coming, he’ll have to find his own way,” Tommy stated darkly, and no one was willing to ask anything else. “We need to get out of here, now! Everyone through the portal!”

Quickly they complied, TJ’s team going through first, followed by Jason’s group and Tommy’s last. They fell through the portal, landing on the forest floor as they escaped the complex. As soon as they hit the ground, Kim started to come to, as well as Kira and Ethan. 

“Everybody okay?” Kim asked dazed, and Tommy didn’t know what to say…

Then behind them, the portal collapsed, the last glimpse they saw was of the corridor swallowed up by flames. Ethan eased himself off Jason and Zack’s shoulders, moving on his own power and Conner slowly put Kira down, holding onto her until he was sure she had her feet under her.

For Tommy, he was still reluctant to put Kim down. He’d been so fearful of losing her, but he’d been able to get her back. Finally he bent down to let Kim stand on her own, even if he wasn’t willing to let her go; he held her hands tightly.

“Trent?” Kira asked, and Kim looked to the younger woman. She watched how Conner hovered over her, and thought that maybe she and Kira needed to have a talk about what was right in front of her eyes…

“I don’t…” Tommy started to say, when the dino thunder team’s communicators went off.

Hurriedly, Tommy pressed the button to activate the com channel.

“Hayely, Billy, we read you. We’ve got Kim and we’re outside the command center’s back door.”

“That’s good, because we’ve got something you might want to see,” Hayley said, her voice slightly amused.

Once the communication cut off, the door to the basement command center slid open. The rangers slowly trudged inside, the aches and injuries starting to become more apparent as the adrenalin began to wear off. Inside, they came to find Hayley and Billy with the monitor screen on, the image it showed being that of Mesogog’s island and base aflame and crumbling. Tommy and the dino thunder rangers stared at it in shock.

“Mesogog’s island?” Ethan asked, awed.

“Yup. Seems whatever you guys did, you burned the place to the ground. And I monitored only one portal besides ours out of the place, and it didn’t have Mesogog or any of his people passing though it. You did it… you stopped Mesogog and saved the planet!” Hayley gushed, her hand reaching for Billy’s on the console.

“But if none of Mesogog’s people escaped, who…” Tommy started to say, when from the back stairs stepped a young Hispanic man, no longer morphed in his white armor that no one thought they’d ever see again.

“Trent!” yelled the members of the dino thunder team, and they all rushed to embrace him.

“How?” Tommy asked, stunned as he left his hand sit on the younger ranger’s shoulder.

“I knew the place pretty well. I knew there was another door that led to a series of passages and at the end of it was a portal. I guess being evil did help me in the end,” he said with a wistful tone.

“Your father?” Kim asked, holding his hand.

“He broke free, took control for a short window at the end,” he said softly, “and he told me to go. He hadn’t been able to find a cure for the disease that gave Mesogog control, and he wanted to stop him as much as we all did. Even if he couldn’t survive…”

Tommy nodded in understanding, pulling Kim to his side. He was thankful that Anton had chosen to do the right thing in the end, and that he’d released his son to escape. Quickly he looked around at the battle weary rangers around him and felt the responsibility of leadership again.

He let Kim go long enough to power down, prompting everyone to do the same. Then he took Kim’s hand again as they walked the circle of rangers, shaking their hands or hugging them as Tommy and Kim expressed their gratitude for these rangers, their friends’ willingness to come to their aid.

“Thank you,” they said to each and every ranger, as well as to Hayley and Billy who had come down from the console, looking them in the eye as they let them know how much what they’d done meant to them.

“Hey, you know what they say bro,” Jason said, coming up to hug Kim and Tommy when they’d finished their thank you’s, the other rangers converging on the couple, “once a ranger, always a ranger.”

Kim and Tommy stood in the middle of their friends and comrades and realized that they were truly blessed to be among such heroes.


	41. With This Ring pt 4: The End is Another Beginning

Tommy and Kim stood in the command center, wrapped up in each other and slightly overwhelmed by the day’s activities as the contingency of rangers still hovered around them, soaking in the realization of their role in the love story before them. It was Hayley that finally realized that the two lovers needed some time alone, and had Billy help usher everyone out.

With the basement now empted of the rangers that had been there to rescue her from Mesogog, Tommy and Kim stood stock still, hands clasped and lost in one another as the significance of what had happened hit them. Slowly, Tommy found himself drifting out of the daze to focus on Kim’s disheveled appearance, and the seriousness of what had happened hit him, reminding him as well that while she was safe, the news of how he’d been able to come to her rescue was still a mystery to her. He knew he should tell her what happened, so he decided that now was the time to catch Kim up on what had happened since her kidnapping, including he had told their families. It was when he got to that part, explaining how he had divulged their ranger identities to their loved ones, Kim broke her silence.

“You did what?” Kim asked, stunned as she stood there in her slightly rumpled wedding dress.

“I had to. Sam said…” Tommy began, and stopped. “Kim, when you were in Mesogog’s fortress, was there a moment when you swore that I was there, that you could feel me before I came in?”

She tilted her head, strands of her hair falling around her slightly marred face from where her stylish hairdo was falling apart. She did recall a sensation, as if…

“I… I felt this pull, like you were there, somewhere calling for me, and I called back, in my head, my heart…”

Tommy fought to stay standing. Sam had been telling him the truth. He had been able to hear Kim’s soul call his. That was the only thing that made any sense…

“That’s why I had to do it Beautiful. So I could hear you. I would never have made it to your side if I hadn’t been able to focus on you, on us.”

“But… but we weren’t supposed to tell anyone. I mean Zordon said…” she stammered, stunned by everything to the point of confusion.

“But Zordon isn’t around now Kim. We’re responsible for our own actions; we’re making the rules here.”

Kim nodded slowly before she looked him in the eyes again. It was true… Tommy had the mentor role with this team, even if he was with them in the field. And there were so many things that were different… not just that. No, he was right, they were making their own rules and because of that, they’d been able to defeat Mesogog.

“So, my parents know about you being a ranger… and mine too?”

“Yeah. I ended up morphing in front of them. I couldn’t think of an easier way to get them to believe me without arguing for hours… I didn’t have hours. Mesogog still had you…”

“No, it’s okay. Hell, I’m sorry I missed it,” Kim said with a small laugh to her tone and then went quiet, knowing the anguish her fiancé had to have been going through, fearing what had happened. Still, they had survived and were together.

But they weren’t married…

“Now what?” she asked, her eyes showing her discouragement at the fact their wedding had been ruined.

“I don’t know. I mean everyone’s still here, we can still use the Cyberspace, I assume, but I know tomorrow is a Sunday, and the church and the reverend are booked for all their wedding slots for the next month, let alone the next few days.”

“The church is booked…” she said dejectedly, wondering if fate was messing with them again.

“It is, but…” Tommy said, his mind whirling as he considered…

“What? You look like you have an idea.”

“Kim, let’s get married where this all started,” Tommy started, grabbing her hands in a fashion that evoked more memories than she could count.

“Angel Grove?” she asked, taken aback.

“Not quite, but close. Let’s go upstairs and I’ll explain my idea.”

His smile filled her with hope and she nodded, returning his smile with her own, trusting that he knew what he was doing. He pulled her along, heading them towards the trap door stairs, and his eyes finally flicked with full interest on what she was wearing…

“Oh, and by the way,” Tommy said with a wolfish grin as he escorted her up the stairs, his breath tickling her ear and neck, “I love the dress.”

-x-

It had taken a lot of reorganizing and help from everyone, but they’d done it.

Just one day after their wedding should have taken place, at the stroke of noon, the justice of the peace, forty lawn chairs full of family and friends, the wedding party and Tommy waited for Kim’s arrival so the pair could be married. They’d chosen a site that they didn’t have to worry about booking, and meant something very special to them and those who knew the story of Tommy and Kimberly. 

Their wedding had been moved to the edge of the lake where Trent had admitted his dual identity to Kira; a lake very similar to one in Angel Grove that had played a pivotal role in the two people getting married there now.

As the music started, Kira walked the makeshift aisle that cut between the white wooden lawn chairs discernible by the trail of white, pink and red rose petals. As she walked along she gave Dr. O a wink and then glanced slightly at Conner, Ethan and Trent as she made the turn at the end of the aisle and took her place at the front of the assembled group. Aisha followed, her smile focused at Tommy, knowing that the man who had led a virtual army of rangers to save his future wife was about to be struck speechless once Kim started towards the makeshift altar area.

Once Aisha made the same turn Kira had, all eyes swiveled back to the small stand of trees where Kim was to appear from. The song quickly changed to the bridal march, and she stepped out from the greenery to make her way to the love of her life who stood as if frozen at the sight of her.

Kim glided along the path, her shoes barely touching the ground as she gazed at the set of chocolate brown eyes watching her as she moved closer to her destiny. The decision to re-make the wedding had ended up in their having and choosing to simplify things. Tommy had told her that he loved her the way she was everyday, not made up. So now she walked down the aisle in her wedding dress, remade bouquet in hand, but the veil and tiara were gone, having been damaged the previous day and her hair was now loose, flowing down her back and along her shoulders.

Finally Kim reached the end of the aisle, smiling brightly at Tommy who was decked out in his tux and looking better than she’d ever seen him. She handed her bouquet to Aisha, who wore a matching expression as Jason and David who all smiled at the sight of their friends and his brother finally getting married. Once Aisha had the bouquet in hand, Kim turned to her one true love. Just watching them, everyone in attendance knew now, even if they hadn’t seen it before or even known Tommy and Kim long that these two people were meant for one another.

Taking both of Kim’s hands in his, the sense of déjà vu enveloped them both. This was right. Finally, they were going to make things the way they were always supposed to have been.

The justice of the peace cleared his throat, bringing everyone’s attention from the couple before them and pulling Tommy and Kim’s eyes from each other to his face.

“Kimberly and Thomas came to me yesterday and asked if I could perform today’s service. I was somewhat surprised, as they explained that the church wedding they’d planned had gone… awry, but they still wanted to be married, but they wanted to change the circumstances. What they told me I want to share with you. They said that their love truly started beside a lake very similar to this one. And so they wanted to return to that place of beginning to start a new chapter of their lives. So now, today they return to the lakeside to pledge the rest of their lives to one another. And I believe that with those sentiments, this is the right place for them to seal their commitment to one another.”

Tommy and Kim looked at one another again, no longer able to focus on anything but one another while those in the guest chairs and standing up with them that knew the story of Kim and Tommy’s meeting on the rock at Angel Grove’s lake smiled with happiness, and some threatening tears. It was right, in all senses of the word.

“Kimberly Ann Hart, do you take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?” asked the officiant.

“I do,” she answered, her smile beaming at Tommy as she finally said the words after so many years of wishing for the day to come when she could finally say them.

“Thomas James Oliver, do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

“I do,” he answered, and Tommy fought to keep from kissing her right now; how had he been so lucky as to have been given his heart’s desire after coming so close so many times to having missed out on this?

Jason and David stood on their side with Tommy and Aisha and Kira stood with Kim, the four of them watching the drama that had been nearly ten years in the making play out before them. In the assembled seated area on the grass, the rangers that had served with Tommy and Kim, the rangers that had only heard the stories, the teens that made up the new team and Tommy and Kim’s families all watched the ceremony with a mixture of relief and delight.

“You informed me that you had prepared your own vows beforehand for this ceremony. Kimberly, if you will please face Thomas and recite your vows.”

Kim squeezed Tommy’s hands briefly and swallowed hard. This was it… 

“Tommy, whatever lays ahead, good or bad, we will face together,” Kim began, taking a breath to fight off the tears that threatened at that momentous moment. “While I have not always been at your side, I have always loved you. You have always been my friend, my soul and my team mate. I make this promise today, before this assembly to never leave you again until death parts us, and on that day, to wait for you on the other side.”

Tommy smiled at the woman before him. The words were perfect. They’d written them right before the wedding ceremony, and they had spoken to everything they’d been through.

“Tommy, if you will please recite your vows to Kimberly.”

“Kimberly, *Beautiful*,” he added quickly, bringing tears to her eyes as he called her that now, “whatever lays ahead, good or bad, we will face together. While I have not always been at your side, I have always loved you. You have always been my friend, my soul and my team mate. I make this promise today, before this assembly to never leave you again until death parts us, and on that day, to wait for you on the other side.”

“Now the rings,” called the officiant, and Tommy and Kim partially turned, releasing only one hand to retrieve their rings from Jason and Aisha. Quickly they returned to their previous position and glanced at the elder man for his prompting, anxiously awaiting the time when they could feel the cool metal around their fingers, sealing their dedication formally.

“Thomas, if you would place the ring on Kimberly’s hand and repeat after me, ‘with this ring, I seal my pledge, and join my life with yours’.”

“With this ring, I seal my pledge, and join my life with yours.”

Tommy slid the delicate gold band that was the mate to the simple solitaire that already decorated Kim’s finger. As the ring slid into place, Tommy could almost feel the approval of the woman who had worn them previously in his choice for a wife.

“Kimberly, if you would place the ring on Thomas’ hand and repeat after me, ‘with this ring, I seal my pledge, and join my life with yours’.”

“With this ring, I seal my pledge, and join my life with yours.”

Kim slid the simple gold band that they’d picked out that nearly matched his mother’s ring. Once the ring was in place, they grasped hands again, their happiness showing in their gestures, their eyes and their smiles. The justice of the peace cleared his throat and everyone looked to him. He smiled as well, watching the apparent love between the two people before him. It had been a while since he’d presided over such an obviously in love pair.

“On behalf of the State of California and the city of Reefside, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may now kiss your bride.”

There was no hesitation to follow that directive, and Tommy pulled his wife to him and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her soundly, sealing their vows and promises as she returned his embrace and kiss. There was a thunder of applause around the lakeside as family, friends and team mates all cheered the culmination of ten years of romance.

It was only after long moments that seemed to go on forever that Kim and Tommy eased their lips apart and noticed the applause and few whistles that came from the assembled guests.

“Ladies and Gentlemen, I am pleased to present to you Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Oliver,” declared the justice of the peace with a grin.

Once they had been officially announced to everyone, Kim turned slightly to get her bouquet from Aisha, seeing the teary expression of her friend and then returned fully to Tommy’s side. With Kim’s hand in his, Tommy turned towards the aisle and the two of them ran together down it, all the while being pelted by white, red and pink rose petals that appeared out of nowhere, the joy in their hearts matched by the happiness in their friends and families’ on their behalf.

Watching Tommy and Kim head to the cars, giddy with love and romance just reinforced the belief in all of them that happy endings were real. 

-x-

The guests had all made their way to the Cyberspace for the reception. Kim and Tommy had quickly realized that they’d been lucky they’d chosen it, since with the disaster caused by Mesogog postponing things they would have had to pay for a hall or restaurant a second time. Instead, they’d just reorganized things, having the catering company come back and reheat and set up the food that Hayley had directed them to store in her refrigerator.

The regular set up had been cleared, and the space was rearranged for the event. Small circular tables filled the room covered with black and white tablecloths, with the dance floor in front of the stage where a live band that Kira had helped them find was located and the head table. Near that was a stunning cake that had also been shoved in the Cyberspace’s industrial refrigerator, saving it from its arrival the day before.

All around the room, the variety of decorations in a few specific colors illustrated that this wasn’t an ordinary wedding. Now that everyone knew the bride and groom’s ranger history, they could understand and appreciate them for what they were. The floral displays were in a variety of ‘obvious’ colors – white, red and pink roses with green ivy. White tea candles were set in pink, red and green colored glass votive holders and were set out everywhere. Kim had most definitely not wanted green candles… The favors were set out on the tables, and everyone now could understand the referenced colors and animals, and there were the place cards at each setting, each with the color representing their ranger status along with the person’s name. 

Looking around the room, it was a stunning sight. Yet the real thing everyone had come to see was still to arrive. As people showed up at the Cyberspace, they milled through the room, the band that had set up on the stage playing soft music as they awaited the bride and groom.

After doing a quick headcount to see that everyone had made their way to the reception, Jason sent Kira out to collect Tommy and Kim as he went over to get a microphone from the band. Once Kira came back in with a thumbs-up sign, he quieted the band and then did the honors of introducing the newlyweds.

“Ladies and gentleman,” called Jason from the band stand, “the moment you’ve all been waiting for… it’s my distinct honor and privilege to introduce for the first time Mr. and Mrs. Tommy Oliver.”

The two entered the Cyberspace through the front door, pushing through the interior set to another round of roaring applause, and Tommy nearly laughed at the thought that half the people in the room would end up with red, sore hands at this rate. Still, he really couldn’t make himself care, as he wrapped his arm around Kim’s waist and led them into the party.

-x-

An hour or so into the reception the afternoon buffet had finally slowed down, only after Rocky had done his best to finish off anything left on the buffet table including a series of canapés, finger sandwiches and other simple lunch-like foods. People had eaten and chatted with their table mates, getting to catch up or meet others they hadn’t met before this event, waiting for the other requisite parts of the party that were still to come. 

Sensing that his big moment had finally arrived, Jason pushed away from the table, pausing long enough to signal to the band to stop. He’d spoken with them when he’d gotten there, prearranging their ‘break’ to coincide with his speech, since everyone in the room now knew the secret this group of people had, except for them. He waited until the musicians trundled out of the Cyberspace, probably taking a smoke break or something in the front of the café. Close, but far enough away he could be free to speak.

With that he grabbed the microphone he’d stashed by his seat and got up, the guests taking note of the best man getting up and knowing what was coming they focused on him, quieting the room. Standing behind Tommy and Kim, he placed a hand on Tommy’s shoulder and blew into the mike.

“Is this on?”

Everyone laughed, and Jason smirked at the chance to finally use the speech he’d been working on since *before* Kim had left for Florida.

“Okay, so surprise… here we all are at Tommy and Kim’s wedding. And just a reminder, anyone who I bet that they *would* eventually get married that hasn’t already paid up needs to see me before the end of the reception.”

There was another round of laughter, and Tommy reached around and lightly punched his friend in the arm.

“Seriously though, as the man responsible for these two meeting, which is a long story in itself, it was a damn good thing that Tommy asked me to stand up for him today,” Jason started, raising his glass slightly as he spoke to the assembled guests and his friends. “I have known Kimberly for over twenty years and consider her like a sister, and while Tommy and I have been friends for considerably less than that, he might as well have been my brother. For three years these two were there for one another. Through the bad and the good… I think between him throwing her out of the Megazord with the rest of us within two days of meeting, and her fainting every time he showed up in a new uniform, we all knew it was true love.” 

The rangers laughed noting the humor of those stories. It was only fair. As it was, Kim pointed at Tommy with an ‘I told you he’d mention the Megazord incident at the wedding’ smile as Jason related the Megazord reference.

“Then things changed and Tommy pushed Kim to follow a dream, and in the process he lost her. But when you’re meant to be with someone, fate will find a way to step in and fix things. Which it did.”

Kim twisted her head to look in turn at Aisha, Kira, Tanya and then Ashley. When she looked at them all, she felt as if she could see the shadow, the spirit of the first yellow ranger in each of them. Fate had forced Tommy and her together again when Trini had died. She would never have had the motivation to tell him the truth, to try and mend the fences that had led them here if she hadn’t. She felt Tommy squeeze her hand and gave him a watery smile as she thought of their missing team mate who no doubt was looking down at them happily, feeling as if she’d done her job in giving them their second chance at happiness.

“This has always been love,” Jason continued, bringing Kim and Tommy’s attention back to him. “No one doubted that, ever. Even these two, I think. And so when they found their way back to one another, I was the first one to tell him that he’d better not waste his second chance. And as you can see, he actually took my advice on *something*. But seriously, it’s my privilege, my honor and my pleasure to be able to wish them every good thing that they have ever deserved, for I know that you’re both finally where you were meant to be. Congratulations.”

Jason raised his glass, and a sea of glasses from the tables filling the room matched him. 

Kim and Tommy smiled at one another, tapped their glasses together and took a sip of the champagne before they set them aside and kissed as the room applauded. Jason pointed to where Hayley and Billy were sitting near the door, and she got up and had the band come back in. The group wove their way through the tables and back to their spots on the platform, getting ready for their next set, including the newlyweds’ first dance to their song.

“We’d like to call the bride and groom out for the first dance,” said the young man leading the small band that Kira had located.

Tommy stood and held a hand out for Kim. Taking it, he lifted her to her feet and escorted her to the floor. Settling his left hand across her back, to make up for the height difference, even with her heels, he took her left hand in his right, and waited for the first strains of the song that they’d picked out. Somehow of all the songs both of them had heard in the last eight years separately, they been able to both agree on this one that really stated everything they believed in their hearts about the love they had for the other. 

As the music began to play, he stepped into the song, hearing the tune, feeling the lyrics and seeing only her eyes as she matched him, soul for soul, heart for heart and step for step.

“Find me here  
And speak to me  
I want to feel you  
I need to hear you  
You are the light  
That's leading me   
To the place   
Where I find peace again

You are the strength  
That keeps me walking  
You are the hope  
That keeps me trusting  
You are the life  
To my soul  
You are my purpose  
You're everything

And how can I stand here with you  
And not be moved by you  
Would you tell me how could it be  
Any better than this

You calm the storms  
And you give me rest  
You hold me in your hands  
You won't let me fall  
You steal my heart  
And you take my breath away  
Would you take me in  
Would you take me deeper, now

And how can I stand here with you  
And not be moved by you  
Would you tell me how could it be  
Any better than this

And how can I stand here with you  
And not be moved by you  
Would you tell me how could it be  
Any better than this

Cause you're all I want  
You're all I need  
You're everything, everything  
You're all I want  
You're all I need  
You're everything, everything  
You're all I want  
You're all I need  
You're everything, everything  
You're all I want  
You're all I need  
Everything, everything...

When how can I stand here with you  
And not be moved by you  
Would you tell me how could it be  
Any better than this

Oh And how can I stand here with you  
And not be moved by you  
Would you tell me how could it be  
Any better any better than this

And how can I stand here with you  
And not be moved by you  
Would you tell me how could it be  
Any better than this

Would you tell me how could it be  
Any better than this...

As the song ended, everyone looked first to Tommy and Kim, who kissed, and then Tommy dipped Kim, sending her towards the floor as they started laughing. As soon as he righted her, she caught him and gave him a half-joking glare that had him smirking. There was another round of applause as he pulled her to him and they kissed again.

“Alright, how about everyone now?” called the leader of the band.

The second song started up, a soft country tune, “She Thinks She Needs Me,” as people got up and moved to the floor. Adam asked Kat to dance, while Jason danced with Cassie. Billy and Hayley got up and joined in, along with Aisha and Rocky, Tanya and Zack, and Tommy’s parents and Kim’s mom and step-dad on the dance floor.

While everyone was on the dance floor, Kira stood and snuck away from the table, giving the guys who were now on their own at their table a thumbs up signal. They’d been able to keep the team’s little plan secret. After all the stories she had heard, everything Kim and Dr. O had told them about their relationship, and what the former rangers had offered up to fill in the blanks, Conner, Trent and Ethan had convinced her this was a perfect gift.

Carefully holding the hem of her yellow dress, Kira walked up to the band stand, and climbed up. After a few words with everyone, the band wrapped up the song they were playing and the male singer stepped aside. Kira then turned to the microphone and coughed slightly, bringing everyone’s attention to her. For those who knew Kira or were getting to know her now through the time the rangers had spent together before the wedding, most knew that the young woman was an aspiring singer. So her presence at the mike was one of anticipation and curiosity.

“Hi… uh, well, since I think everyone knows me, I won’t do the introduction thing. Anyway, after everything the guys and I have gone through with Dr. O and Kim, and being we don’t have the long standing friendship most of you have with them, well it was hard to figure out just what we could get them to celebrate their wedding. So, we sort of put our heads together and thought that this might be right. It took you both a long time to find your way here, back to each other again, but I don’t think you really ever gave up the idea of being together. So, this is for you guys.”

Turning, Kira picked up the spare guitar and strapped it over her shoulder. With a few chords, the rest of the band jumped in, the tune slower than she’d ever played the song before and she leaned into the microphone.

“Looking back, I don't regret...  
One single day.  
Memories will keep me close...  
When you walk away.  
It's harder than I could imagine.  
I guess I should have known that.  
Close your eyes, I'll be there.  
I'll come running anywhere.”

”Say goodbye, I'll be okay.  
I will wait for you, cause...  
True love will never fade.  
When it's real, you can feel it.  
And I know, that you know..  
That I will keep on waiting..  
Patiently..  
Patiently... for you.”

Conner, Trent and Ethan had all heard the song before, twice actually if they counted the really bad video Kira had been conned into doing. But this version had a deeper feeling to it; it was slower and played to the depth of the relationship that she was depicting and the trials it had been through to get to this point. And as everyone in the room who knew what Kim and Tommy had been through listened, they knew the words were fitting.

”Stormy Tuesday afternoons haven't been the same.  
I used to stand outside and taste  
The sweetness of that.  
It's harder when it really happens.  
Oh, I wish I'd know that.  
Close my eyes and you're there.  
But I can't find you anywhere.”

“Say goodbye, I'll be okay.  
I will wait for you, cause...  
True love will never fade.  
When it's real, you can feel it.  
And I know, that you know..  
That I will keep on waiting..  
Patiently..  
Patiently... for you.”

“Patiently...  
So patiently..”

“When I'm lost, I try to find you.  
Turn around, I'm right behind you.”

“Say goodbye, I'll be okay.  
I will wait for you, cause...  
True love will never fade.  
When it's real, you can feel it.  
And I know, that you know..  
That I will keep on waiting..  
Patiently..  
Patiently... for you.”

Applause filled the room and Kim found herself near to tears while Tommy simply stared at the woman who had always been his life, even when they had dated other people and were so far from another. But their patience had paid off. 

“We’re all glad you found each other again,” Kira said one last time into the mike before taking off the guitar and handing it back to one of the members of the band as she headed off the stage. She only got a few feet onto the dance floor before they met her, Kim throwing her arms around her ‘little sister’.

“That was perfect. Thank you,” Kim whispered into Kira’s ear.

“Well, it wasn’t like we had any real money to buy you guys anything,” said Conner as he, Ethan and Trent converged on the couple and Kira on the dance floor, the moment turning into a large hugging session.

“Let’s get everybody back to dancing!” called the singer at the mike, the band starting up another song, this time a more R&B sounding tune led by the girl on the keyboards… “What’s It Gonna Be.” The jazzy, soft melody filled the room as the people who wanted to dance made their way to the floor, others leaving and taking a seat.

Tommy and Kim turned to one another, falling naturally together and starting to move with the music. Around them, their friends and family danced as well, everyone full of smiles and light hearts. Ethan had hurriedly weaved his way out of the traffic, knowing his dancing skills were lacking on any level, while Trent found himself being asked by Cassie to dance. 

Conner stared at Kira, who looked up at him with a questioning glance. Taking a deep breath, he held out his hand to her, smiling self-consciously.

“Would you like to dance?” he asked simply, his voice shaking slightly, mirrored by his outstretched hand.

“I’d love to,” Kira replied with a breathy tone, letting him set his hand on her back, against the bridal satin of her dress as he took her other hand in his and proceeded to show her that he knew how to dance.

Tommy peered up from where his head has been laying on Kim’s and noticed his students and his team mates together. With a little nudge, he pushed at Kim’s head, making her raise her eyes to his. He darted his eyes to the side and she followed them, seeing Kira and Conner, slowly dancing and getting closer as they smoothly glided across the floor. Kim brought her gaze back to Tommy and smiled.

They reminder her of *their* first formal dance…

Maybe they’d be the lucky ones, she though with happiness and hope in her heart on this day of all days, to find their mate in their team mate’s arms.

The song finished, and the dancers and the other guests applauded. Then there was a call for a kiss to the newlyweds, which though they didn’t really need it, prompted Kim and Tommy to draw together again, their lips fusing for a long minute before a series of whistles and more applause filled the room. They broke apart, looking at the assembled group with a mixture of humor and embarrassment when Rocky suddenly stood up and yelled across the room in his regular irreverent and ravenous manner, “Come on guys, less kissing, more food! Cut that cake!”

Kim and Tommy couldn’t help laughing, as did most of the guests, while Adam grabbed a hold of Rocky’s suit jacket and yanked him back into his seat. Still, it was a good idea to get things moving… the sooner they moved things along, the sooner they could escape…

Tommy escorted Kim to the table with the small two layer cake, simply iced with white frosting. There was enough though that everyone should have a piece, and Rocky two or three. Picking up the knife, Kim glanced up at Tommy, waiting on him. He moved to grasp her hand in his, the families and their friends all getting up to huddle around them, several of them with cameras in hand to document the moment. With careful precision, they slid the silver knife into the white frosting of the cake, cutting one small piece. They moved down to pull the slice apart, and carefully fed each other the cake, Tommy sucking the frosting from Kim’s fingers before letting the digits go. 

“That’s good luck,” whispered Kat to Tanya with a grin. “Every wedding I’ve been to where they’ve smashed cake into their faces has ended up in divorce.”

“Well, there’s no way that’s ever happening with these two,” Tanya replied, taking her friend’s hand in hers, knowing that under her happiness for Tommy and Kim, some small part of her probably still wished it was her with him.

“Alright Rocky, *now* you can have some cake,” Kim called out, quickly cutting another piece of the confection, placing it on a plate and holding it out to him in invitation.

He wasn’t about to tempt fate by not taking Kim up on the offer, and hurried up to grab the plate and give Kim a peck on the cheek, and flashed Tommy a smirk before he could growl at the former red/blue ranger’s behavior. Aisha hurried over, offering up her scalpel skills to slice and serve the cake. 

Once everyone had a piece, there was another semi-quiet round of eating, the musicians playing soft melodies to keep the atmosphere going. 

It was Aisha that nudged Kim’s elbow when most of the plates were empty and looked at her friend with a smirk.

“Come on Kim, time to see if we can get me hitched too,” she said with a laugh, referring to the tradition of the woman who caught the bouquet getting married next.

With a bewildered shake of her head, Kim got up, reaching forward to pluck the bouquet from the table. She leaned down to give Tommy a kiss before raising her hands to create an imperfect impromptu megaphone.

“All right girls, you want to snag someone next, get out here. And Billy, no fair keeping Hayley in her seat!” Kim called out, much to everyone but Billy’s amusement.

Aisha took the point of the crowd of eligible women, some of the ones less interested standing near the back. Kim gave them a look, noting Aisha’s wave, as well as Kat’s, letting her know they’d be happy to have her toss it their way. With a grin, she turned her back on them, and closed her eyes. She waved her arm up and down, getting ready for the throw, and then threw it with a mighty heave over her right shoulder, turning quickly to see where it was heading.

And found that the excessive force she’d put behind it had sent it sailing over the intended targets… and right into Kira’s hands.

There was a series of good hearted congratulations from the others on the floor as Kim hurried over to where Kira stood staring in shock at the bouquet. Kim smiled and the two caught eyes and started to laugh, embracing. Ethan elbowed Conner and gave him a smirk, while the red ranger watched Kira laughing with Kim with a small smile.

“Damn it Kim, what happened? You were supposed to throw it short,” Aisha complained with a mock-complaint before reaching over and hugging the new yellow ranger. “Just make him wait a few years girl.”

Kira’s mouth dropped open slightly and Kim and Aisha shared a look. Obviously Conner’s attention to Kira hadn’t gone unnoticed by either of them, or Kira for that matter.

Before they could rib Kira any more about Conner’s interest, Jason showed up and leaned over Kim and Aisha’s shoulders, smiling.

“Come on now, clear the floor… Tommy has work to do,” he said laughingly, reaching to the empty chair behind him and pulling it out and onto the floor. “Here’s your seat Kim…”

Kim sighed, smacking at her childhood friend as he guided her and the chair over to the head table and waited until she sat before looking to Tommy to get his ass up and get over there. Knowing what his best man and best friend was looking for, Tommy got up from his seat and headed over to where his bride sat, her legs crossed beneath her barely pink wedding dress.

“Behave,” Kim said, glaring at Jason before Tommy came to kneel at her feet, and she turned the same look on him. “You too.”

He looked at her in mock shock that she would think such a thing and then gave her a wicked smile as he grasped the hem of her dress and raised it up along her leg, looking for the elusive strip of fabric being prized by the males in attendance. As the dress went higher, Tommy heard the cat calls from some of his former team mates, and swung his head around swiftly to glare at them.

“Any more of that and I’ll leave it there,” he snapped playfully, and saw several of the guys back down.

Kim put her hand on her raised knee, holding the dress in place and gave him a look that said he wasn’t going any farther. Undeterred, he simply slid his hands under the material, running his fingers along her thigh before he reached his goal. Slipping his fingers under the elastic, he quickly drew the blue and white lace garter off her leg and into view. Raising it above his head, the men cheered, and Kim sighed at the silliness of men and lingerie.

“Have fun handsome.”

“Will do Beautiful,” he replied, leaning over to get a kiss from her as she walked back to the table to sit with Kira and Aisha and watch the spectacle.

“All right, anyone who’s looking to give up the bachelor lifestyle, get your ass up here. And that means you too bro,” Tommy said, looking to David where he sat at the head table.

Quickly the unmarried men gathered in the same area the women had minutes earlier, including Kim’s father and brother and Sam. Following the same procedure, Tommy turned his back, and using the elastic sling-shotted the garter up and over, pulling up short and landing in a group of guys. After a brief but friendly scuffle, Rocky emerged, standing next to a dejected Adam and Jason with the garter.

“Oh God,” Kim said with a laugh, looking to where Kira sat knowing what was coming next and wondering what the normally feministic, outspoken musician was going to do.

“Come on Kira…” called Rocky with a grin as he twirled the garter on his index finger.

“Rocko, come on, she’s like half your age,” Adam said with a grimace.

“It’s tradition!”

“It’s antiquated and stupid,” Kira said, getting up and getting into the older ranger’s face. “Besides, don’t you like have some more cake to eat?”

Several of the original rangers who were Rocky’s friends and had served with him laughed, and then quickly went silent as he looked around indignantly.

“All I’m taking about is a dance… damn, you people are sick,” Rocky said with a smirk, holding out his hand to Kira.

With a little sigh of relief, Kira took it and let him lead her through a song.

“Besides, I really don’t want to get my ass kicked by Kim, Tommy or that new red ranger who’s staring holes in my back,” he whispered in Kira’s ear, causing her to look over his shoulder to see Conner glaring at the older former red ranger as they danced. 

When the song ended, Conner quickly moved back to the dance floor and took her hand, spinning them into the next song as others joined them. Everyone continued to dance, visit and have a good time, Kim and Tommy assuring the rangers and their families that everything was now fine with Mesogog gone; the rest of the team and Hayley could keep an eye on things while they were on their honeymoon.

When the band took another break, Kim and Tommy began to realize how late it was, and thought about perhaps getting things wrapped up…

“So, it looks like everyone’s happy, fed and tired from too much dancing,” Kim said with a wicked smile as things started to wind down. “How about we get the hell out of here?” 

“I think that’s an excellent idea Mrs. Oliver,” he said happily for the first time, calling her by her new, married name.

Getting up from their chairs, Kim and Tommy started their series of goodbyes, hugging Aisha, Kira, David and Jason before seeing their parents, Sam and then all the other former rangers. Then, as they tried to escape the Cyberspace, they got caught in another shower of flower petals as they ran for the door. They paused only briefly, waving to everyone before pushing through the first and then second set of double doors and off to their new life together.

“There they go,” Jason remarked absently, not really addressing the crowd of rangers, friends and family around them, but knowing they probably could hear him anyway, “always in love, and always rangers…”


	42. Epilogue - Finding Forever

I think that I have heard the word congratulations more times in the last two months than the rest of my life combined.

First was every person who came by the Women’s Olympic gymnastics’ team in the dining area at the Olympic Village, or in the gym or anywhere within Greece for that matter. The stewardess on the flight coming back to the U.S. even said it.

But the more important times I’ve heard it all revolve around the little gold ring I’ve been playing with that’s sitting around my left ring finger.

We’re finally married.

I turn my head slightly to watch Tommy’s face as he sleeps beside me. He’s had it a lot tougher than me the last few days, what with having to mount the rescue mission to Mesogog’s island, worrying about what he was going to find when he got there, having to face our families and then thinking he’d lost Trent…

But now we’re off to paradise.

“We’ll be landing soon,” says the stewardess as she stops to pick up the plastic glasses that she gave us complementary champagne in. 

I nod and turn to Tommy… my *husband* I remind myself with a delicious shudder, where his slumbering form is huddled against my side and I lean over to kiss him softly.

“Huh?” he mumbles, and then his eyes flutter open and I’m greeted with those soulful, chocolate orbs that will always find me.

“Hey,” I murmur, smiling at him.

“Hey yourself. What’s up?”

“We’re going to be landing soon. I thought you might want to be awake, you know…”

He gives me a look that makes the blood in my veins go cold and boil at the same time. We have had to be good for the last ten hours or so. All during the wedding, and then the reception, we kissed and touched, but nothing more… intimate than that. Finally we had made a quick drive to the house, changing to some more appropriate clothes for getting on a plane, loaded our luggage into the waiting taxi and drove to the airport. Again, we needed to behave, not wanting to give the driver a show, and then it was all about getting through security at the airport and getting seated on the plane.

I will admit there was a moment or two… okay, about half the flight that I wanted to drag my new husband to the bathroom and join the avionic mile-high club, but after he fell asleep, contented on my shoulder, I had allowed myself to let it go. 

There was always the return trip.

Of course, if this had been the old days, we could always have joined that ‘club’ by making love in his zord or mine. But the days of free-wheeling, high flying zords are gone for us. We’re more adult, and more grounded, to be both funny and honest.

Before I realize it, his hand is cupped against my cheek, and I realize I’ve wandered off. 

“Sorry.”

“Where were you?”

“Thinking impure thoughts about you, me and the plane’s restroom facilities,” I say with a smirk, and I see his eyes blaze for a minute before the Captain announces over the intercom that we’re making our final decent towards Honolulu, and everyone should take their seats.

“On the way back?” he suggests with a wicked grin, and I smile back.

Oh yeah… this is gonna be a *great* honeymoon.

-x-

The taxi drove us from the airport and dropped us off at the hotel that my love picked out. It’s a stunning place, even in the fading light. Instead of the bland twenty story high modern hotel, he’s chosen something more down to Earth. It all bungalows, spread across the space of the hotel grounds, and I have to wonder if he did this to make sure we don’t disturb the neighbors.

He gets the key, and they direct us to a small series of golf carts. The bell boy puts our luggage in the back, and we climb in. He gets into the driver’s seat and we are speeding down the small cement paths. It takes us maybe a few minutes before we’re at our destination. Tommy climbs out, and offers me a hand. I take it and he lifts me from the seat, catching me in his embrace for an obscenely short period of time in my opinion before releasing me and guiding us into the open door of our accommodations.

The moment I walk inside, I’m just overwhelmed. Everything is done in warm colors, dark woods and overstuffed, comfortable furniture. Then I get sidetracked by the huge sliding glass door showing the expanse of blue water and white sand illuminated by the full moon and head for it while Tommy says something to the bell boy. I feel his arms wrap around me moments later and I lean back into his embrace.

“Like it?”

“It’ll do,” I say with a smirk.

“So, you tired? I know we’ve had a long day,” he jokes, and I turn in his arms, my cuff scraping lightly against his. We may be newlyweds and on our honeymoon, but we’re rangers too… and although Mesogog is history, being unprepared is just asking for trouble.

“How about you show me to the bed, and then after we try it out, we can think about sleeping,” I whisper breathlessly and feel his cock stir in his khakis.

He leans down and brushes his lips against mine softly. We’re not in a rush. We have five days to indulge, and we plan to make every minute count.

Turning, he heads towards wherever the bedroom is, my hand in his. When we get there, he pushes open the door and I see the darkened room outlined by the light poking through the curtains. He reaches for the light switch and flips it on, engulfing the room in a warm, rich yellow glow and revealing the bigger than king size bed draped in black satin and red, white and pink rose petals. I glance at him quickly, the question in my eyes and he gives me that self-conscious smile I have loved since I was sixteen.

“I thought we’d decided against black satin sheets?” I asked with a smile, remembering that damn commercial.

“I figured that we could live dangerously, considering,” he replied in a husky tone that had my head spinning. “Besides, I had them leave another couple regular sets, along with some… other stuff.”

My eyebrows raise as I wonder what else he’s come up with before his mouth descends on mine again, and my thoughts all focus on the sensation of being devoured by him in every way possible.

Before I consciously realize it, he’s backed me up to the bed and we tumble onto it. I feel the silk of both the rose petals and the sheets against my arms, and as Tommy keeps kissing me, I realize that they’re no comparison to his lips.

We twine our tongues together for minutes that seem like hours, and I finally pull back, breaking our connection as I open my eyes to watch him. Ever since we found this other connection, thanks to Sam’s urging, I have felt like he’s more a part of me than ever before, which is damn scary since he was my everything before; my air, my water, my food, my life… 

His eyes catch mine again and the depth of emotion between us flares, along with the passion that we’ve only discovered in the last eight months. I wet my lips, my mouth going dry as he stares at me before he claims my lips again. I taste him as he tastes me, our saliva combining as we breathe each other in. Slowly he slides his lips away to kiss at my jaw, and I shudder. For a moment he moves up to nip at my earlobe, but quickly redirects his attention to my throat, licking and kissing along it until he reaches the spot, right between my shoulder and my jaw and closes his mouth on it firmly, sucking and kissing for all he’s worth.

It’s enough to make my knees buckle, and I’m so glad he threw us on the bed before he did it. But it also happens to be an erogenous zone on me, and I writhe under his ministrations. Of course, just suckling on my neck isn’t enough for him, and I can feel his left hand leave where it was holding me close to him to circle to my breast. Through the thin fabric of my blouse he caresses me, and I can’t fight the moan that breaks from my lips, that is my favorite word… his name.

“Tommy… oh God, Tommy please…” I moan, pleading for him to toss away the confining clothes that are keeping me from him.

I feel him smile against my throat, and I have this feeling…

Abruptly he pulls back, looking down on me and I fight to keep my eyes open. With deliberate slowness, he reaches down and pops the buttons on my blouse open one by one, that wolf smile that I saw only briefly after he’d rescued me and was escorting me upstairs to rebuild our wedding now covering his face. It’s focused on me now, and his eyes are darker than I’ve ever seen them before, nearly black as he takes in each new inch of flesh he uncovers.

“You are so Goddamned beautiful Mrs. Oliver,” he tells me passionately, and I feel a rush of wet heat suffuse me.

“I’m glad you think so Mr. Oliver,” I reply huskily, and his mouth twitches slightly.

The next moment the blouse gapes across my chest, and his fingers are at the clasp. He pops it open, shoving the fabric to either side, exposing me to him. But he’s not ready to return to his task of driving me insane. With delicate care, he slides my arms out of the bra and blouse, tossing them to the floor. Then he moves towards my waist and unzips my slacks and slides them and my underwear to my feet. Kneeling, he slides them off, along with my shoes. I’ve been watching him the whole time, and the whole scene making me hotter. I love how he can treat me like a princess at one moment, and like a wanton the next.

Once my clothes are gone, it’s simply a matter of him taking off his…

Except he isn’t.

My husband, my lover, soul and team mate stares at my nude form, laid out across the black satin, the rose petals under and surrounding me and I see something cross his face. I can’t put a name to it, but it looks like a mix of lust, adoration and awe. It makes me shudder and I know he can see my reaction.

Before I start to open my mouth to ask him what he’s doing, he falls to his knees beside the bed. With deliberate slowness he runs his fingers up my calves, to my knees, easing them apart while every single nerve ending in my body becomes attuned to his touch, the sensation is like shivers through my body. When his hands reach my inner thighs, I arch my back at the power of it, of him doing this to me. So when his mouth comes down on my clit, it’s all I can do not to scream.

But I’m far from quiet.

“Shit! Oh God…” I yell, and I can literally feel Tommy’s mouth smile against my lower lips.

His tongue flicks out, circling and stroking the nub there, fueling my need for him more. As his mouth and tongue work their magic on me, I shift on the sheets, the sensations and the pressure building as he makes love to me with his mouth. I’m nearly panting when his index finger slides along my lower lips, and then slowly fills me.

“Ohh,” I call out, nearly coming up off the bed at the feeling of being impaled by the digit. 

Even though my eyes fall shut again as I fist my hands in the sheets, I feel him move slightly away from me, and I know he’s watching. That and the fact that his finger starts a quick, almost haphazard rhythm in and out of my passage. One that he knows will drive me over the edge in no time.

A second finger joins the first, and he moves them faster, his tongue lapping at me and I know by the tightening in my womb that it won’t be long. He crooks those fingers inside me with a twist, and I’m seeing spots.

“Christ, Tommy!” I scream, my head flying back and forth on the bed, my hair whipping around me as my whole body spasms with my climax.

Right after my body stops convulsing, I open my eyes to see my lover watching me, and I can’t imagine how he has held off this long. When he breathes one last, hot breath onto my over sensitized skin, I realize that he is just hanging on.

I know now that neither one of us can take any more, and he finally pushes up off my, throwing his shirt off as he removes his shoes with his feet. Once the shirt is gone, he makes quick work of the zipper of his pants, sliding them and his shorts off. I want him inside me so badly, yet my ass is sitting on the edge of the bed… I need to move.

With an unfair display of my powers, I reach forward, grabbing my husband around the waist, dropping him onto me. Then, with ever ounce of concentration that isn’t focused on his rock hard cock pressing up against me, I levitate me, and him upwards, off the bed, and then drop us down slightly farther onto the surface of the bed. When my back hits the mattress, I look up into Tommy’s eyes and see the amusement mixed with rebuke for me showing off like this. I grin at him however and lean up to capture his lips with mine, flicking my tongue at his closed mouth until he gets taken over by the sensations again, diving into me with abandon.

Letting my legs drop as wide as they can go, I slide a hand between us, searching for the solid feel of flesh coated steel. When my fingers grasp it, Tommy shudders slightly, and I am awed for a moment at the power I hold over him.

Then I edged him closer to where we both want to be, and as the tip of his cock slides into me, I slip my hand loose so he can ease into my body in one fluid stroke. As his shaft is fully seated in my body, he nearly cradles me to him, and I can’t help shuddering again. The ragged gasp that flies from my love’s lips tells me that he feels the connection too. Of course, this is the first time we have actually made love without the thin sheet of latex between us. We talked right before the wedding, the real wedding after Mesogog was destroyed that things were safe and it was then that we decided that we could put away the condoms, and if we got lucky enough to get pregnant… well, Aisha and Jason had already laid claim to being godparents to any ‘honeymoon’ babies.

So we were actually, finally totally connected, nothing between us. And if the way I felt was half what Tommy was feeling, I couldn’t imagine ever being without him like this.

He raised his eyes, and in their depths I see so much. I lay a hand to the side of his face and smile. He graces me with a grin that goes from tender to wolfish as he slides out of me, and then back in, making us both tremble.

The sensation of skin on skin everywhere is intoxicating, and we let ourselves get taken by it. I thrown my arms around him, nipping at his lips, his neck and collarbone as he delves harder and deeper into my body. His thrusts turn faster, and the satin of the sheets slips beneath us as we race towards completion.

There’s suddenly an overload of sensation, and as Tommy slams into me one more time, my inner muscles clench violently, and I’m coming, screaming his name in a litany of worship.

“Kimmmm!” calls out my love, and he jerks inside me a few more times and then comes to a stop, slumping on me.

Cradling his body to me, we bask in the aftermath of our lovemaking. Slowly his eyes drift open and meet mine, and we smile. We waited so Goddamed long for this moment… neither of us can really believe it’s finally here. Even with ranger powers, Tommy’s weight is a bit much, and he notices me shift minutely to relive the pressure. Carefully he eases back and out of me, and we both wince at the feeling of loss.

He falls over to one side, and I turn to lay against him. He brushes a feather light kiss on my brown, and I sigh before I let lose a small yawn. Before Tommy can get indignant or laugh, he yawns too, and we both realize the last few days have finally caught up to us.

I slip off the bed and watch while Tommy pulls back the covers. Getting back on, we burrow under them. Collapsing together, I curl myself along Tommy’s side, feeling him snuggle into me as our breathing slows, and we fall asleep.

-x-

I woke up on the slightly disheveled black sheets, the feeling of relaxed bliss and my love’s arms around me making me grin.

This is still unnerving to me… waking up with Tommy. For so long I woke up alone, and now I never have to do it again as long as we live. I watch as he breathes in and out, and have to thank whatever higher powers are out there that he was able to find his way to me two days ago and we and all our friends had made it out in one piece from Mesogog’s island.

Somehow he feels my stare, and his eyes slowly open, and I smile at him, his answering one filling my heart.

“Good morning Mrs. Oliver.”

I smile wider at that. While we both know that I’m more than likely going to need to keep my maiden name for professional reasons, hearing him call me that is just a thrill I never thought I’d have.

“Good morning to you too.”

“Sleep well?” he asks, and I fight the blush that wants to appear on my body and face, as I don’t remember the sleeping more than the other activities we engaged in, and he notes it anyway and grins at me like a lunatic. “What did you want to do today?”

“How about going out?” I ask, thinking of getting up to go use the facilities. Quickly I get up, moving towards the bathroom, which I have yet to see, feeling the uncontrollable desire to get cleaned up and explore this new place with this man that I love.

“You think you can handle going for a few hours without ravishing me?” Tommy asks, and I turn and snatch up a pillow and throw it at him. It hits him in the chest, and he grabs it to him, looking at me slightly amused, slightly surprised.

“I’m an adult, I can behave,” I toss back, indignant but laughing inwardly. 

He smirks at me as he holds my pillow to his chest, showing just how childish I can be. Still, he is staring at me like a lion watching a prime piece of meat, and I realize that just as much as my husband’s lower anatomy is showing signs of his disinterest to go anywhere that isn’t private enough to make love to me, my own signs of arousal at his presence are more than obvious.

Damn this man gets to me.

How the hell did I ever survive all those years alone…

That split second heartrending thought must have reflected in my eyes, because I see his mouth drop from the smile it had been sporting to a slight frown.

“Kim? Beautiful?” he starts, tossing the pillow back on the bed and moving quickly to me.

Once his arms are around me, I let myself fall, holding him to me tightly. I will never be complete without him in my life. I have spent years on my own, held important jobs and kept my friends close, but no one but him has ever made me feel as if I am more by simply being in their presence.

He holds me, not asking questions of me, mostly because I think he knows what I’m thinking and feeling. He has to have had similar thoughts… So we stay there, welded to one another for what seems an eternity that neither of us wants to disturb.

However, the force of nature ends our time together, and Tommy gets up, padding out buck naked and showing me one of his better attributes as he wanders off to the bathroom. I heard the door somewhere close, and then the toilet flushed. When he came back, he climbed back on the bed, running his hands along the sensitive flesh of my arm. I fought down a giggle and pushed myself closer to him. 

I love how his hands make me feel… it’s like sensory overload just by him touching me. Slowly his hand stops, and I turn to face him, our eyes locking.

“I love you Tommy,” I tell him, meaning the words just like I have every time I’ve ever said them to him, but somehow they carry more weight now.

“I love you too Beautiful.”

He leans in and our lips connect, caressing and playing. I don’t think I will ever tire of just being kissed by this man. And making love to him… The simple thought of him and I entwined together makes me pull back and stare into his dark eyes so I can impart my new-found honeymoon goal on him.

“Just so you know, I plan on making love to you on every available surface in this hotel room,” I remark with a coy smile, and see the heat flare in his eyes again.

“But that’s later, right? I thought you wanted to go out,” he remarks seriously, and I sigh slightly. We are here for four more days… we should get out.

“I do.”

“So, what did you want to do? Did you want to try out the ocean, or the pool maybe? We can take one of the dozens of sightseeing tours that the hotel offers. Or if you just want to stay close and take it easy, we can always find a couple of lounge chairs on the beach, and we can relax?”

“Why don’t we just get dressed and see what’s out there?” I replied, with a smirk, and snagged the pillow I had thrown at him earlier, and smacked him with it playfully in the face as I scrambled off the bed and hurried to find the bathroom. 

I heard him laugh behind me and then a crash of the lamp at the side of the bed, most likely because of a tossed pillow, and I knew it wouldn’t be long before he caught me.

Which was exactly what I wanted.

-x-

We actually went outside.

I know, Aisha almost demanded that we do so, but part of me wondered if we actually would.

We swam in the ocean, which was as blue as everyone made it out to be. We settled under one of the umbrellas on the hotel’s beach and laid out. After relaxing under the blue sky beside the blue waters we changed into the clothes we’d brought with us and wandered along the beach. Before long we found a restaurant for dinner, ending up sitting and eating while trying not to think about ravishing the other, even as we did evil things with the finger food served us.

When dinner started to wind down, I realized that we’d been outside the room for nearly eight hours. In my opinion, and judging from the way my love just licked his lips as the spaghetti strap on my top slightly slipped off my shoulder, it’s been way too long.

Taking my hand, he leads us back up the path to our bungalow. Opening the door, he ushers me into the darkened main room and closes the door behind me.

“That was entirely too long to not be able to touch you,” he says and I turn to feel his hands fall quickly on my ass.

He moves us to the door and shoves me against it.

Tommy reaches for the hem of my skirt and pushes it up, reaching for my panties, and hauls them down my legs and over my sandals. Quickly he unbuttons his pants, sliding his zipper down and shoves the pants and boxers down until his cock springs free. Just watching him like this is starting to make me wet, and I lick my lips in anticipation.

From the look in his eyes, I know what’s coming, but the shock of him sheathing himself quickly into my depths in under a second makes me gasp.

“Kim?” he asks in a roughened tone that is part desire, part fear. 

“No, it’s good… don’t stop,” I murmur, totally mesmerized by the feeling of him buried deep in me.

And he doesn’t.

A moment later he’s thrusting in and out of me, my back pressed hard against the wood as my inner muscles clench around him. God, I never thought that we’d be fucking against the door of our room. But damn is it good. He moves me, pulling my hips forward, putting all my weight against the door across my back. The change in angle allows him to slide in harder, and I feel my climax coming fast.

My hands brace above my head, to either side of the wood, and I hope it can survive the frantic pace that my love is setting, because my body has decided it has hit its’ limits, and I feel my insides clench, my back wrenching as my orgasm hits hard.

“Oh fuck, Tommy!” I scream and writhe in his grasp, my fingers clawing at the wood.

“Kimmmm,” he yells, and I feel the last few violent thrusts inside me, and he comes as well, flooding my insides with his seed.

We sag to the floor, his slowly receding penis still inside me. He reaches up and tenderly brushes my hair from where it’s fallen across my face, and I fall in love with this man all over again, even deeper than before.

“So, wanna go again?” I tease, and he leans forward to kiss me deeply.

God, this is heaven…

-x-

The following day is a near repeat of the previous – sun, sand, water and being with each other. We took the more conventional tour this time, and got to see the sights. That evening, we had dinner in and then planned to see what else we could christen in the room before Tommy got up from his place on the couch.

“How about we check the rest of the facilities?” he asks, and I wonder what he’s thinking.

Taking my hand, he guides us again, like before but this time to the bathroom, and I suddenly see what he has in mind…

The huge double sized tub that takes up half the room is surrounded by vases of roses, all in our colors as well as white pillar candles bathing the room in a golden glow. This is what I get when I let him go to the bathroom while I clean up the take out boxes I guess. As I turn to see his reaction, I find the most loving yet nervous expression on his face, and it makes me want to weep.

“Have I told you how much I love you since we woke up this morning?” I ask, and the light in his eyes changes, turning darker, yet blazing with fire.

“No… how about you show me?” he answers huskily, and I decide to do just that.

Moving to the tub, I start the water, checking it for the right temperature and then let it run. Quickly I stop the drain, and pour in some of the bubble bath that the management left for us. Gotta remember to ask if that’s standard, or if this man before me set it up.

While the water pours in, I turn back to my husband. I love thinking of him like that, and reach my hands up to pull his head down enough so I can easily kiss him. We stand there, hands tangled in one another’s hair and our mouths roaming before I pull away. I want to lavish this man with some extra special attention, and I need to be a lot lower to do that.

But there’s still a small matter of clothes.

I ease off his shirt, followed by mine. My bra gets tossed next as I focus on kissing his neck some more. My pants, and then his come next, our underwear coming along with them. As I slide down his stomach, running my tongue along his six-pack abs while I push the khakis to the floor, I end up exactly where I want to be.

When my knees hit the tile, I find myself face to face with my goal – the more than slightly impressive erection that seems to have appeared from just kissing me. I smile slightly at the thought and then I run a tongue up his shaft, eliciting a groan from Tommy. I let my hand fondle his balls as I slide my lips over his rigid length, fighting the urge to just quickly deep throat him. I want to take my time at this.

Increasing the suction around his cock, I glide up and down, letting my tongue lap at him, all the while keeping a slow up and down movement. I know that he wants me to go faster, from the way he’s murmuring it, as well as how his fingers are digging into my shoulders, as if I’m all that’s keeping him standing up straight.

Can’t have that…

I redouble my efforts, going down on him faster, and I feel his legs buckle slightly. I let off playing with his balls to pump the base of his shaft in time with my mouth. It doesn’t take my love long before his hips are pumping, and I hold them tightly. I suck strongly at his tip, still pumping at his shaft when he tenses and my mouth fills slightly as his hips jerk wildly. 

“Oh shit, Kim,” he shouts, and I fight not to smile.

I ride it out with him, and when he finally starts to sag, I hold him tight before I slip my mouth from his deflating shaft.

I look up, taking in the stunned, satisfied look on my husband’s face and then snake my way up to kiss him deeply. The love I feel in my soul forces its way out verbally.

“I love you,” I blurt, and he smiles at me softly, his hand caressing my face.

“Love you too Kim.”

We kiss briefly before we lazily walk to the huge tub, and Tommy steps in. I follow, leaning back against his chest. The hot water caresses me everywhere and I let loose a deep sigh. How the hell will we ever be able to take baths alone again?

As my mind drifts, I feel a wet cloth drag across my shoulder, moving around to my throat. I glance back slightly to see Tommy’s face watching me. The cloth dips into the water again, and he pulls it up from the wet depths by dragging it up my torso, between my breasts before caressing my throat and the other shoulder.

I can sense the fringe of my hair soaking up the water as I move from side to side, allowing Tommy greater access to whichever side he’s paying attention to. But as time goes on, his hand stays farther under the water, first rubbing the terrycloth over the hardening buds of my nipples, and then dipping to the juncture of my legs. I had already been moaning softly at his attentions, but as he leaned in to kiss at my throat, I thought I would combust then and there anyway.

After the second pass, I noticed the cloth gone, and it was the velvet texture of his fingers stroking me. The change was enough to bring my breathing faster. His fingers dipped between my lower lips, rubbing and playing with the bundle of nerves already heightened by my giving him the blow job and his attention to my breasts.

I feel the tension start to coil in my stomach, and I realize I want to have him inside me when I come. Carefully I try to maneuver in the tub, turning around and spreading my knees to kneel on my love’s lap. In the time since we got in the tub, he seems to have made an outstanding recovery, and I ease forward to sheath myself on his hard cock.

I lean forward, my head resting against his as we come together again. Then Tommy’s hands wrap around my waist, and he eases me up, and then lets gravity bring me back down. I let him do this a few times before I need more friction. 

Bracing my hands on the sides of the tub, I roll my hips once before raising and then slamming my pelvis into his. The reaction is immediate.

“Oh God Kim, that…”

“Yeah,” I moan in reply, knowing that neither of us can put it to words.

I push up again and again, the rush of water around us threatening to spill over the sides of the tub as we move closer and closer to the brink. My love leans over and latches onto my left nipple, sucking it, and my hips go into overtime as my head falls backwards. My insides start to ripple, and I feel Tommy’s arms start to clench… we’re so very close.

Then he leaves my breast and seals his mouth on my neck, right at the pulse point and sucks hard. 

“Oh my fucking God,” I yell and I’m coming, my hips barely able to keep moving as my sole focus tunnels down to his cock inside me and his mouth sucking at me.

Luckily he picks up the slack, his hands around my waist slamming me up and down a few more times before he groans loudly.

“Ohhh God, yes,” he calls out, and I feel him jerk inside me as he comes.

Spent but happy, I sag against his chest, feeling his arms wrap around me. Within me, I feel his erection recede, and it slips from me as I push up from my love’s chest. We grimace slightly, but we’re too high on love to care at the moment as we cuddle in the cooling bath water. 

This is just… more than I ever wanted.

And we have two more whole days…

-x-

Before we realize it, we’re packing to get our plane ride back home. I have to say that as much as we have enjoyed our alone time, were’ wanting to get back. There’s a lot of work still to do. It takes us no time to get a cab, and before long, we’re through security and to the gate.

As we get on the plane, I hear Tommy ask if the flight is full, and the woman flight attendant says no. And then he asks if we could move seats to the rear of the plane. As the attendant nods, he leads me down the aisle to the last set of seats… which I quickly realize are located right next to the restroom. 

He escorts me into my seat and sits next to me, giving me a look that says he knows exactly what I’m thinking.

God, this man is going to be the death of me yet… but what a way to go.

-End-

**Author's Note:**

> If you liked this series there are additional interludes, sequels and anthology stories available at trevizo.org/ranger_fic.htm


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